Hiring Event Next Week For ST Engineering
August 9, 2019
CareerSource Escarosa and ST Engineering are partnering for a hiring event on Thursday, August 15.
This no-cost event is open to the public. Job-seekers will have the opportunity to network with ST Engineering employers seeking individuals to fill their open positions as aircraft technicians and mechanics.
Employers will be recruiting for positions in the aerospace industry. Job seekers are urged to dress professionally and bring plenty of resumes.
The even will be held from 9 a.m. until noon at CareerSource Escarosa, 3670 North L Street in Pensacola.
Back To School Bash Events, Free School Supplies Saturday In Cantonment, Quintette
August 9, 2019
Back to school bashes with free school supplies and more will be held Saturday in Quintette and Cantonment.
Carver Park, Cantonment
A back to school bash will be held Saturday at noon at Carver Park, 208 Webb Street. There will be free book bags for school aged children, free haircuts, free nail polishing, and a free hotdogs and hamburgers. The event is sponsored by the Cantonment Improvement Committee.
Quintette Community Center
Quintette Community Center will be having a back to school bash Saturday at 11 a.m. Children must be present to receive supplies. There will be food and prizes. The center is located at 5490 Quintette Lane.
Pictured: Last year’s back to school bash at Carver Park in Cantonment. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Sacred Heart To Build New Emergency Room On Nine Mile Road
August 8, 2019
Sacred Heart Hospital plans to be build a new $11 million emergency center at the intersection of Nine Mile Road and Stefani Road. Construction on the 14,700 square-foot facility is expected to begin this fall, and the facility’s opening is planned for late 2020.
The emergency center will include 13 treatment rooms and two trauma rooms staffed by emergency medicine physicians, nurses, and respiratory therapists. The facility will also will include a lab, pharmacy, CT scanner and x-ray imaging.
“Like all of our emergency rooms, we’ll be open all day, every day. We’ll also have separate areas to care for children and adults,” said Tom VanOsdol, president and CEO of Ascension Florida. “Across the Gulf Coast and North Florida, we want to continue to make it easier for patients to receive the care they need, when and where they need it.”
The new ER will be located within a mile of the new Ascension Sacred Heart Health Center at Milestone, an outpatient medical facility that opened in March of this year. It will be supported by Sacred Heart Hospital Pensacola, which provides the region’s only Trauma Center to treat both adults and children.
Two other projects are currently under construction in Pensacola: a health center off Summit Boulevard and a physical therapy and rehabilitation center near Bayou Boulevard. Both of those facilities will open next year.
Century Declares Emergency, Approves $4,750 No Bid Proposal To Replace Four Gas Meters
August 8, 2019
The Century Town Council has declared that an emergency exists and approved a no-bid proposal presented by their new consultant to replace gas meters at four businesses.
The town will spend $4,750 plus $35 an hour for a consultant to replace the meters with an internal bypass and pressure test ports at the Century Coin Laundry and Self Storage, the Southern Panhandle Cafe, Food Giant and the Sunrise Donut Shop. Eddy handed the proposal to the council just minutes before their vote.
“The laundromat’s meter is not reading at all. It’s flowing gas, but it’s not reading. So that is an emergency,” said consultant Buz Eddy. “The same with the others, because I took them personally to these locations cause there were questions concerning these. Once we redo them, it’s going to increase that revenue in those areas significantly.” He said the $1,440 replacement of the laundromat meter would result in a financial return for the town in 2-3 months.
Mayor Henry Hawkins said the laundromat’s last two gas bills have been $400.
NorthEscambia.com made a public records request for the laundromat’s 2019 natural gas billing and usage history on Tuesday, but that request had not been fulfilled by the close of business Wednesday.
Eddy requested the town council declare that an emergency existed “in an abundance of caution” and “if any bid procedures are applicable to waive those bidding procedures” for the purpose awarding the contract to G.P.’s Gas Appliance Repair and Piping, LLC in Baker and $35 an hour to Vernon Prather for an unspecified number of hours. Prather is the former assistant city manager in Gulf Breeze and also served as Gulf Breeze public service director.
Eddy said no quotes or bids were obtained from any other company.
“We found that the prices, just evaluating the prices against what other utilities have paid for similar efforts are comparable and to take the time to bid out or even inquire about quotes, we would have those meters inoperable for that period of time. It’s just one of those things that having an expert come in and tell you I’ve contact someone that’s competent, they can do the work, they are available immediately, time is of the essence.
Eddy said the job is beyond the capabilities of the current town staff because it requires complete rebuilding of the “gas meter set”.
“Why is the gas superintendent that is being paid to do it not doing it? He was not doing it fast enough. So basically we as a council, as a governing body, we have to rectify this problem,” council member Luis Gomez (pictured left) said.
“This is the first opportunity we’ve had all the facts together and the meter readings assembled and the diagnosis has been done on the problem. Previously I was not here. I don’t know what the facts were. Nobody knows that the facts were. Now we know, and we’re ready to move forward and this is the right action to take,” Eddy said.
Council President Ann Brooks said the four problematic meters were first brought to the council’s attention at a budget workshop on August 1 “and that’s when the council decided to get a bid”.
“I think the bidding law is something we need to pay attention to, so the next step is that we were going to look at prices for having the other meters installed. We need to make sure, because that won’t be an emergency,” Brooks said.
The motion to declare an emergency, bypass any bidding procedure and award the contract passed the council unanimously.
The contract did not include the actual meters because the town has had the new meters needed in stock since February. The town purchased 500 new residential natural gas meters and 52 new commercial meters months ago in an effort to increase billing accuracy and revenue.
Gas Superintendent Wally Kellett said in mid-July that only 40 of the residential meters had been installed, and none of the commercial meters were installed.
The council has required Kellett to attend all of their meetings and update the status of his department, but he’s missed numerous meetings with no public explanation. At Monday night’s council meeting, no reason was given for Kellett’s absence, and Hawkins could only say “40-plus” meters had been installed because he did not know the actual number since Kellett’s last update to the council on July 15.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
See A Helicopter With A Strange Pole Hanging Underneath? Here’s What It Is
August 8, 2019
Have you seen a helicopter with a long rod or pole hanging from it? Several readers contacted us asking about it, and here’s what we found.
PowerSouth Energy Cooperative, which generates and supplies power to Escambia River Electric Cooperative, is is conducting right-of-way clearance on transmission power lines in the North Escambia area over the next couple of weeks.
They are using a Hughes 369D helicopter with a suspended aerial power saw to accomplish this task. The saw has ten, 24-inch blades that swing back and forth trimming trees and other foliage in close proximity of the high voltage lines. Periodic right-of-way service is necessary to keep power lines clear of tree brush so they will not cause harm to people or a disruption in electrical service.
Photos courtesy EREC for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Byrneville Elementary May Forgo Multi-Million Dollar Construction Project, At Least For Now
August 8, 2019
Byrneville Elementary School may put the brakes on a multi-million construction project, at least for now.
“I am ready to table it,” Principal Dee Wolfe-Sullivan told the school’s board of directors Wednesday afternoon. “Let’s look at what we have…and do what we can to make it better.” Sullivan citing rising employee costs and costs associated with mandated school safety measures that might make a mortgage payment harder.
During meetings with bankers and financial experts, the board learned in recent months that financing their desired multi-million dollar project would be tight.
Board chairperson Melanie Killam expressed Wednesday that she would be willing to look at cutting a planned 10 classroom building down to a half dozen classrooms with expansion capabilities.
Without a quorum present, the board was unable to take an official vote to table the building project Wednesday afternoon.
In June, a banker told the board that the charter school does not have the enrollment or funds needed for a $7.7 million building project they have been considering for over a year.
The board had discussed $7.7 million for a new building with 10 classrooms, a 1,000 square foot multipurpose room and associated spaces, and a new cafetorium with a serving kitchen. United Bank Vice President Chris Walker said the school can afford a loan of just $2.185 million with an enrollment of 205 students. Wednesday, just days before the start of the 2019 school year, Byrneville’ enrollment stood at 185.
Mike Marshall of the firm Sam Marshall Architects told the board two months ago that they could cut their costs by constructing a six classroom building, reducing amenities and using a metal building instead of masonry.
Byrneville Elementary’s main building was constructed in 1941, and many classrooms and the school’s library are located in aging portables.
Pictured: Byrneville Elementary School Principal Dee Wolfe-Sullivan explains rising costs to board of directors members Melanie Killam and Brandy Carter Wednesday afternoon. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Guns, Drugs Seized From Escambia County Home
August 8, 2019
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office seized multiple weapons and a quantity of drugs when they arrested a man on outstanding failure to appear warrants this week.
Deputies arrested Patrick Riley Brown for failure to appear, fleeing and eluding and carrying a concealed firearm.
Inside his home, deputies confiscated 14 guns including AR-15’s, pistols and other firearms; meth, fentanyl, heroin, oxycontin, marijuana and other narcotics.
Brown was charged with firearms and weapons offenses. He’s being held in the Escambia County Jail without bond.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Two Top Escambia EMS Administrators Have Resigned
August 8, 2019
Two administrators have resigned from Escambia County EMS.
Interim Emergency Medical Services Manager Leon Salter and EMS Captain Jim Bonoyer have submitted their resignations, according to Escambia County.
EMS Supervisor Jimmy Maddrey has been named interim EMS operations manager as of Thursday morning.
Back To School: After School Child Care Registration Information
August 8, 2019
The first day of school in Escambia County is August 12. As parents get ready for the kids to return to school, many also need to make their arrangements for after-school child care. Some of the schools offer their own program on-site, while many others work with Campfire, Childhood Dreams, Creative School Age Child Care, or YMCA. Registration for all on-site child care begins Friday, August 2, 2019.
Contact numbers for each child care program are listed below.
District-Operated Programs (school and POC):
Bellview Elementary School, Jodi Hicks, 850-941-6064
Bratt Elementary School, Brandy Pierce, 850-761-6200
Ensley Elementary School, Sylvia Purifoy-Herbert, 850-474-5336
Global Learning Center, Adrianne Johnson, 850-430-7594
McArthur Elementary School, Angela James, 850-494-5628
Contracted Sites:
Camp Fire Gulf Winds: 850-476-1760
Longleaf Elementary School and Scenic Heights Elementary School.
Childhood Dreams: 850-572-1131
Brentwood Elementary School, Myrtle Grove Elementary School, and Pleasant Grove Elementary School.
Creative School Age Child Care: 850-479-7814
Jim Allen Elementary School, Beulah Elementary School, Blue Angels Elementary School, Cordova Park Elementary School, Hellen Caro Elementary School, Lipscomb Elementary School, Molino Park Elementary School, Pine Meadow Elementary School, A.K. Suter Elementary School, Kingsfield Elementary, and N.B. Cook Elementary School.
YMCA: 850-478-1222
Ferry Pass Elementary School, Holm Elementary School, Sherwood Elementary School, West Pensacola Elementary, Bellview Middle School, Brown Barge Middle School, Ferry Pass Middle School, Ransom Middle School, Beulah Middle School, and Workman Middle School.
Update: Fifth Suspect Arrested In Ensley Shooting
August 8, 2019
The fifth suspect has been arrested in an Ensley home invasion shooting.
Dominique Roger Warren Sr. was booked into the Escambia County Jail at 2:12 p.m. Thursday.
Chief Deputy Chip Simmons said Dominique Roger Warren Sr., Tequan Devontae Warren, and Katron Shawn Long broke into a Gardenia Circle home early Monday morning, ambushed a woman as she was sleeping and shot her. Her son heard the commotion and shot at the intruders, hitting Tequan Warren who drove himself to the hospital. Tequan and Long were later arrested.
The son also suffered a gunshot wound.
Bianca Richelle Lutley and Jonathan Nikos Butler were also charged. Lutley was allegedly the getaway driver.
All five face aggravated battery and home invasion charges.
Pictured top: (top row, L-R) Tequan Warren, (second row) Katron Long, Bianca Lutley, Jonathan Butler, (lower inset) Dominique Warren Sr.