Behind The Scenes: Painting The Field For The Tate Aggies
August 23, 2019
Volunteers were under the lights Thursday night in Tate High School’s Pete Gindl Stadium painting the field in preparation for the Aggie’s season opener Friday night.
To see the process step by step, click here for a photo gallery.
The Aggies will host the Pensacola High Tigers at 7 p.m. The Aggies will have fie more home games during the regular season, including homecoming on October 18.
Photos by Billy Howard, Jr. for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia Plans To Repurpose Two Portable Buildings As 4-H Meeting Rooms In Molino
August 23, 2019
Escambia County is repurposing two portable buildings as meeting rooms at the 4-H property in Molino.
The buildings are about 864 square feet each with a raised wooden deck and a handicap ramp. The county already owns the buildings; they will be moved from the former Escambia Charter School site on 90 & 9 Ranch Road in Gonzalez.
Before the buildings are moved, the project must complete the county’s development approval process.
Gulf Coast Kid’s House Educates School District Employees On Child Abuse Prevention
August 23, 2019
In just four days, Gulf Coast Kid’s House provided child abuse prevention education to 800 Escambia County School District employees.
School bus operators are in constant contact with children, so it was critical to educate them on recognizing, reporting and reducing child abuse locally. Currently in Escambia County, 1 in 8 children experience one of the four types of abuse: mental, medical neglect, physical or sexual — according to the Kid’s House.
“Participants are surprised to learn 97% of the time at GCKH a child is harmed by a person that child knows, loves and trusts and that 40% of the time an older child or teen is the abuser. This knowledge changes the way our audience looks at abuse and makes them more aware of the reality of abuse,”
Leslie Donovan, prevention coordinator, said.
Any business that would like to receive child abuse prevention education or to become a certified Safe Kid Zone can contact Gulf Coast Kid’s House, at (850) 595-5800 for more information.
Gulf Coast Kid’s House is a children’s advocacy center serving Escambia County. As a children’s advocacy center, they combine all of the professionals and resources needed for the intervention, investigation and prosecution of child abuse cases under one child-friendly facility. Child victims and their families also receive mental health counseling at their center. The goal of Gulf Coast Kid’s House is to form a more collaborative response to child abuse cases so that they can improve case outcomes, and minimize trauma to the children and families they serve.
New Details: Century Man Charged With Raping 16-Year Old Girl, Breaking Into Church Building
August 22, 2019
A Century man is charged with grabbing a 16-year old girl she walked to the library in Century, raping her and then breaking into a church building where he helped himself to bottles of water and bag of chips.
Na’Keetric Devonte Davison, 27, is charged with sexual battery of a victim over 12 and below 18, battery, kidnapping of a child to commit sexual battery, battery by strangulation, robbery, burglary, criminal mischief with property damage and resisting arrest. On Thursday, a judge set his bond amount at $500,000..
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to the area of Highway 29 and McCurdy Street Wednesday afternoon where a teen female exiting the woodline told deputies she had been raped by a man that fled the area on foot.
A passerby called 911 to reported a disturbance after seeing a man pulled the teen into wooded area.
According to an arrest report obtained by NorthEscambia.com, the 16-year old white female was obviously hysterical, standing with her jeans unzipped and her hair in disarray. She told deputies she was walking south on the sidewalk to the Century Branch Library when she was approached from behind by a black male that asked her for some change. She stated the black male, later identified as Davison, grabbed her and pulled her into a wooded area adjacent to the sidewalk. Davison then grabbed her by the throat, slammed her to the ground and told her not to scream or he would kill her, the report states.
The teen told deputies that Davison then sexually assaulted her before telling her again that he would kill her if she screamed out. He then took her wallet from inside her purse and fled on foot into the woods.
The teen was transported to a local hospital for medical treatment.
A perimeter was established, and Davison was tracked by deputies and K-9 units from the Escambia County Road Prison and the Century Correctional Institution.
Davison was found inside a small building used as a meeting room adjacent to the New Calvary Church at Zion and Jackson streets. Had kicked in the door of the building in order to gain entry, according to an arrest report, and consumed several bottles of water and a bag of chips.
For an exclusive NorthEscambia.com photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos, click to enlarge.
Attorney Threatens To Sue Century Over Past Due Consultant’s Bill
August 22, 2019
An attorney for a consulting company is threatening to take further action against the Town of Century if they don’t pay up on a $12,562.42 past due bill.
Town officials have said they don’t owe the money to City Services, Inc. (CSI) of Thomasville, Georgia, because the town wanted out of their contract with the natural gas consultant.
According to a invoice provided by Tallahassee attorney Ausley McMullen on behalf of City Services, the town was last current in August 2018 and then fell behind, making two payments on four month’s billings. The town last made a payment on December 31, 2018, leaving a balance of $3,638.27.
The attorney said in a letter to Mayor Henry Hawkins that Century has breached its agreement with CSI, which was billing the town $1,200 a month.
McMullen said CSI had authorized “appropriate steps to protects its interests, including filing a lawsuit seeking damages, interest, attorneys’ fees and court costs.”
“Please govern yourself accordingly,” McMullen wrote.
City Services has continued to bill the town and accrue finance charges. So far, the town has been charged $562.42 in late fees on the bill.
Nine Mile Road Traffic Shift Monday At Navy Federal
August 22, 2019
Traffic will be shifted Monday on the portion of Nine Mile Road near Navy Federal Credit Union.
East and westbound drivers on Nine Mile Road between Leisure Lakes RV Park and Eleven Mile Creek will be transitioned to the newly constructed eastbound roadway the week the week of August 26. The traffic shift will be in place while crews begin reconstruction on the eventual westbound travel lanes. One lane of traffic will be maintained in each direction.
All construction activities are weather dependent and may be delayed or rescheduled in the event of inclement weather.
Throwback Thursday: Northview Chiefs Last Escambia County Football Team To Win State
August 22, 2019
For a Throwback Thursday, we are turning the clock back nearly seven years ago to December 7, 2012, when the Northview Chiefs won the Florida Class 1A football championship in Orlando. The Chiefs were the last team from Escambia or Santa Rosa counties to win a state title, beating the Trenton Tigers 42-21 for the trophy.
The 2012 road to Orlando had been oh so long for the Chiefs — losing out the previous two years a the state semi-final level — making the victory oh so much sweeter. The state title was the first and only for Northview. There were 3,609 fans on hand for the game — over 1,500 of them making the road trip from North Escambia.
For a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery, click here.
After a scoreless first quarter, La’Mikal Kyles scored for the Chiefs on a 58 yard run with 11:07 on the click. And the Chiefs were just getting warmed up. Chad Smith was in with 8:25 in the half on a 20 yard blocked punt return. And LaDarius Thomas scored on a two-yard run with just 34 seconds in the half. With good kicks from Kevin Vaughan on all three touchdowns, the Chiefs held a 21-0 dominating lead at the half.
Trenton scored on a three yard run in the third, while Northview scored twice in the quarter. Neino Robinson had a 79 yard kickoff return, and Brannon Freeman added a touchdown with a 28 yard run. Northview had one touchdown, a six-yard run from Kevin Vaughan, in the fourth, while Trenton scored twice.
As the clock wound down, the Chiefs won the 1A championship 42-21.
Kyles finished the night with 113 yards and one touchdown on 12 attempts. Freeman had a touchdown and 61 yards on 11 attempts, and Thomas also added a TD and 39 yards on 10 attempts.
The 2019 regular season gets underway Friday night for Northview. The Chiefs will host Lighthouse Christian at 7 p.m.
For a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Former ECSO Crime Scene Tech Gets Probation For Stealing Drugs
August 22, 2019
A former Escambia County Sheriff’s Office crime scene technician won’t spend any time in jail for stealing drugs from evidence.
Christine Rollins, 42, pleaded no contest to two dozen charges, including 11 counts of possession of a controlled substance, 11 counts of grand theft of a controlled substance, trafficking in oxycodone and trafficking in hydrocodone. She was sentenced to two years community control, eight years probation, 200 hours of community service and $10,000 in fines and costs.
Rollins was “stealing narcotics of the deceased from the ECSO evidence building,” according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Florida To Share Voter Registration Data With 28 Other States
August 22, 2019
Florida will become the 29th state to join a national electronic voter registration system to share data with other states.
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Florida will join the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) as part of his administration’s ongoing efforts to enhance the security and integrity of Florida’s elections. By joining ERIC, Florida will be able to crosscheck voter registration data with 29 other member states in order to identify duplicate registrations and outdated records from voters who have moved or passed away, leading to cleaner and more accurate voter registration rolls.
“One of my administration’s top priorities is protecting the integrity of Florida’s elections, which is why joining ERIC is the right thing to do for our state as it will ensure our voter rolls are up-to-date and it will increase voter participation in our elections,” said DeSantis. “Since taking office, we have been reviewing this issue with Supervisors of Elections. We are confident that by improving the accuracy of our voter rolls, we will reduce the potential for voter fraud.”
In addition to enhancing the accuracy of voter rolls, ERIC also improves voter registration by providing information for member states to contact potentially eligible but unregistered voters with instructions on how to register to vote. The outreach to potentially eligible voters is conducted every two years ahead of each federal general election.
Deputies Go From Funeral Escort To Drug Arrest In Century
August 22, 2019
Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies waiting to conduct a funeral escort in Century ended up arresting a local man on drug charges.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies were on Highway 4 near Industrial Boulevard in Century waiting for the funeral escort to begin.
They observed 48-year old Christopher Angelo Phifer drive down Highway 4. Knowing he had an outstanding warrant for trespassing at Century Woods Apartment, deputies followed. They caught up with him as he drove down Ramar Street, driving in a “reckless and careless manner….while passing several children at close range,” according to arrest report.
Phifer traveled to a house in the 100 block of Pond Street and went inside, the report states. He was ordered outside by deputies and placed under arrest. In his vehicle, deputies reported finding crack cocaine and methamphetamine.
Phifer was charged with possession of cocaine, possession of methamphetamine, driving with a suspended license and reckless driving, in addition to the outstanding trespassing warrant.