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14 Tons Of Debris Collected During Cantonment Neighborhood Cleanup

Escambia County collected and disposed of more than 14 tons of debris during the Cantonment Neighborhood Cleanup in July, as part of the county’s ongoing effort to help keep local neighborhoods and communities clean and safe. The events allowed residents to leave items at the curb to be disposed of free of charge by the county and partnering agencies.

The Cantonment Neighborhood Cleanup on July 17 saw great participation from residents, with about 22,380 pounds of yard waste, 7,640 pounds of bulk waste, 150 tires and 720 pounds of household hazardous waste placed at curbside for pickup — for a total of 28,180 pounds.

The neighborhood cleanup initiative involves an aggressive clean-up effort, targeting different neighborhoods throughout the county, with crew members picking up a variety of debris and waste, including electronics, furniture and household items. Since 2016, more than 1,943 tons (3,888,020 pounds) of debris have collected and disposed of through the Community Redevelopment Agency’s Safe Neighborhood Program.

The county’s neighborhood cleanup program is hosted by the Escambia County Community Redevelopment Agency’s Safe Neighborhood Program. Local partners include Escambia County Waste Services, Environmental Code Enforcement, Public Works, Animal Services and Road Prison, along with the City of Pensacola Sanitation Department.

Trial Postponed For Private Investigator Murder Suspect

Trial was set to begin Monday in the case of a woman accused of killing private investigator and burying her body in Cantonment.

Ashley Britt McArthur, now 41, is facing a first-degree murder charge for the death of 33-year old Taylor Wright, a private investigator and former police officer. Wright’s body was found in 2017 off Britt Road, just west of County Road 97 near Muscogee Road in Cantonment. She also allegedly stole $34,000 from Wright.

Monday’s trial date was continued until August 26 due to new evidence in the case.

Earlier this year, McArthur received seven years in state prison for racketeering and organized fraud  While employed by Pensacola Automatic Amusement, from 2015 to 2017, McArthur embezzled thousands of dollars from two clients, the Azalea Cocktail Lounge and Seville Quarter.

Pensacola Automatic Amusement serviced entertainment machines and jukeboxes for various clients in the Pensacola area for 40 years. McArthur falsified collection reports for jukeboxes at the Azalea Lounge and Seville Quarter while keeping the unreported proceeds.

Escambia Approves Brownfield Designation For Cantonment, Three Other CRAs

The Escambia County Commission has designated four Community Development Areas in Cantonment and north Pensacola as Brownfield Areas.

In 2011 the county designated the Palafox, Englewood, Brownsville, Barrancas and Warrington CRAs as Brownfields. Between 2010 and 2015 the county added four additional CRAs – Atwood, Ensley, Oakfield and Cantonment.

The four newer CRAs were designated as brownfields for the purposes of economic development and environmental rehabilitation incentives offered through state programs. The project will be consistent with the land use plan and will reduce slum and blight, stimulate commercial development, and create new jobs.

To qualify for the incentives offered through the Brownfield Redevelopment Act, a property must be officially designated a Brownfield by resolution by commission.

There are about two dozen brownfield areas in Escambia County. The only one north of I-10 is the entire town of Century.

Escambia Man Indicted On Charges Of Trying To Sell Equipment To Iran

An Escambia County man has been indicted in federal court for trying to sell equipment to Iran.

James P. Meharg, 59, CEO and president of Turbine Resources International, was indicted for conspiring to sell and export power generating equipment to a recipient in Iran, and concealing the scheme, as well as having payments routed to him via another foreign country. The five-count indictment alleges Meharg, 59 conspired with citizens of the United Kingdom and Iran to export a large turbine and parts from the United States to an Iranian recipient, in violation of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations as well as federal criminal law.

According to the indictment, Meharg, a citizen of the United States, conspired from October 1, 2017, to June 12, 2019, to violate the embargo by attempting to export a Solar Mars 90 S turbine core engine and parts from the United States, for delivery to an end user in Iran. On April 25, 2018, the indictment alleges, Meharg sent an invoice for $500,000 to a conspirator in the United Kingdom and received two partial payments of $124,950 each, on May 7 and May 24, 2018, at least one of which was routed through a company in Dubai.

“The security of the United States depends on protecting our nation from threats, whether those threats originate with foreign nationals or with American citizens who put their own profits ahead of the national interest,” U.S. Attorney Keefe said. “For decades, American presidents have declared the government of Iran to be a threat to our national security and thereby imposed sanctions, and this office is deeply committed to protecting the integrity of the United States in all ways.”

Assistant United States Attorney David L. Goldberg, who is a National Security Cyber Specialist, is prosecuting the case following a joint investigation by the United States Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Meharg is charged with conspiring to export the turbine and its parts to Iran, submitting false and misleading export information, and defrauding the federal government by deceitfully obstructing the enforcement of laws against the export of goods to Iran. He is also charged with substantive offenses involving exporting items to Iran, filing false Electronic Export Information paperwork, and transporting funds from the United Arab Emirates with the intent to conduct the illegal activity. The defendant faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment each for the charges related to violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and money laundering, and he faces up to 5 years’ imprisonment each for the conspiracy and filing false paperwork charges. A trial date has been set for September 3,

Northview Football Youth Football Camp This Evening

The Northview Quarterback Club’s youth football camp will continue this evening, and it’s not too late to register.

The camp will be held from 5-7 p.m. Registrations will be accepted just prior to camp.

The cost of the camp is $50 and includes a camp t-shirt. The camp is open for any child entering Kindergarten through 8th grade. The participants will receive instruction from the Northview High School coaches and players in offensive and defensive positions, as well as agilities and speed training.

Click here to download a required registration form and waiver.

For more information, email Coach Derek Marshman at DMarshman@escambia.k12.fl.us.

Pictured: The Northview youth football camp got underway on Monday. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Attorney Launches Formal Campaign To Raise Florida’s Minimum Wage To $15 Per Hour

Orlando attorney John Morgan has announced the launch of formal campaign for a new constitutional amendment to raise the minimum wage in Florida to $15 per hour.

The Fair Wage Amendment backed by Morgan would increase the minimum wage by slightly over $1 an hour to $10 per hour in 2021, then increases the hourly pay by $1 per hour each year until it gradually reaches $15 per hour in 2026. After 2026, Florida’s minimum wage would increase with the rate of inflation, just as the state’s constitution currently requires. Florida’s current minimum wage is $8.46 per hour.

On Monday, Morgan announced the launch of a new website to advocate for the amendment.

“There is no doubt in my mind that is an uphill battle. But just like there were hundreds of thousands of families with sick children or parents that needed medical marijuana, there are hundreds of thousands of Floridians earning the minimum wage that cannot afford to live in Florida. We must fight so that all Floridians can have the dignity of earning a fair wage for a hard day’s work,” Morgan said.

In order to appear on the 2020 ballot, Florida for a Fair Wage needs to collect and verify 766,200 petitions from registered Florida voters. According to the Division of Elections, 363,157 petitions have been verified so far.

If the amendment appears on the ballot in 2020, it would need a 60 percent approval from Floridians to go into effect.

Cantonment Man Charged With Felony Child Abuse After 2-Year Old Found Alone In Local Street

A Cantonment man is facing a child neglect charge after a 2-year old boy was found alone in a Cantonment street Sunday night.

Tyler Ashton Nellums, 25, was charged with felony child neglect without great bodily harm. He was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $2,500 bond.

About 10:20 p.m. Sunday, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office was responded to Brookhills Drive off Well Line Road, according to dispatch logs. A woman told deputies she was inside her nearby residence when she heard a child screaming and and crying on her neighbor’s front porch. She told deputies that the child was there alone for about 45 minutes with no adult supervision before running and screaming down the roadway, an arrest report says.

The woman picked the child up from the street, called law enforcement and knocked on the door of Nellums’ residence with no answer.

Nellums told the Sheriff’s Office that he was sleeping before the deputy knocked on his door and did not know the child had left the residence. He said the child had exited the unlocked front door of the residence in the past, but this was the first time the child had gone into the roadway, the report states.

According to the arrest report, Nellums said that no steps had been taken to prevent the boy from escaping the residence.

The Department of Children and Families was notified of the incident.

Century, McDavid, Molino, Walnut Hill Businesses Apply Here For Free NorthEscambia.com Advertising

Up to 50 locally owned businesses in Molino, Century, McDavid and Walnut Hill can receive $3,250 worth of free advertising on NorthEscambia.com through an economic development program funded by Escambia County in cooperation with the Century Area Chamber of Commerce.

The businesses will also receive a business spotlight story, 300 to 400 words in length with up to six pictures, to be published on NorthEscambia.com. The stories will also be posted on NorthEscambia.com’s Facebook and Twitter sites.

In addition, each of the 50 businesses will receive a free Century Area Chamber of Commerce membership.

Applications are accepted online only by completing this form on a first come, first served basis (click here).

Program highlights:

• The business must be properly licensed, locally owned and located in the 32535, 32568 or 32577 zip code.
• There is zero cost or financial obligation to the business.
• The business will receive 200,000 non-animated display ads (300×250px) that rotate with other participants on NorthEscambia.com.
• Basic design of one ad is included. The ad can be linked to the business’s website or social media page.
• Ads will run on uniformly scheduled basis prior to November 30, 2019.
• Business spotlight stories, as described above, will run as scheduled by NorthEscambia.com by November 30, 2019.
• The business spotlight story link will be posted on NorthEscambia.com social media channels on day of publication.
• Ads and spotlight stories may not feature alcohol, tobacco or other age-restricted products.
• The business will receive a free, basic level, one year membership in the Century Area Chamber of Commerce.
• Final determination of eligibility will be made by NorthEscambia.com and the Century Area Chamber board of directors.

Questions? Email news@northescambia.com.

Molino Woman Sentenced To Prison For Shooting At Her Son’s Friend In Drug Money Dispute

A Molino woman has been sentenced to prison for firing a gun at her son’s high school friend in a dispute over drug money in an incident that played out on the roads of Bratt.

Crystal Holliday pleaded no contest  to shooting or discharging a firearm from a vehicle, aggravated assault by threat with a deadly weapon and a lesser charge of robbery without a firearm.  She was sentenced to 22.2 months in state prison and will be required to serve 60 months probation when released. She will be required to obtain a mental health evaluation, complete an anger management course and  stay away from the victim while on probation.

In September 2018, the victim told deputies that he was given $200 to go buy “weed” for  the dad of another student he knew from school. But instead of purchasing marijuana, the victim decided to keep the cash.

He received text messages from a number he did not recognize asking him to meet at a convenience store at the corner of North Highway 99 and Highway 4 in Bratt. When he arrived at the store, he saw the man get out of his car and start to approach him.  The victim became scared and drove away.

The student’s dad pulled up next to the victim’s car as they traveled on Breastworks Road. The student’s mother, later identified as Holliday, fired a shot at the victim, according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office report. The victim stopped his car and put his hands up as Holliday pointed the gun at him and demanded the $200, the report states.

The victim told investigators that he had already spend part of the $200, so Holliday took a compound bow valued at $900 and his $600 iPhone at gunpoint and told him he could get his phone back for $90. The victim drove to a residence on Pine Barren Road and called deputies.

The father told deputies that there was never a gun involved in the incident, and Holliday owns a .380 caliber weapon that she keeps in another vehicle, according to the report. The father also said the money was for a cell phone that the victim did not give his son, so they chased him, taking his phone and bow until the victim could pay back the money.

The bow and iPhone were returned to the victim by the ECSO.

Here Are This Week’s Road Construction Problem Spots

Drivers will encounter traffic disruptions on the following state roads and projects in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties as crews perform construction and maintenance activities.

Escambia County:

• U.S. 29 Widening from Interstate 10 (I-10) to U.S. 90A (Nine Mile Road) – Drivers will experience the following impacts to traffic Sunday, July 21 through Saturday, July 27:
  • Nine Mile Road will be closed at U.S. 29 from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday, July 21 through Thursday, July 25 as crews drive piles for the new southbound bridge deck. Traffic control officers will be on-site to help direct motorists. The following detour will be in place.:
    • Eastbound Nine Mile Road will be reduced to one lane, directed to U.S. 29 southbound, U-turn at West Hood Drive, and return to Nine Mile Road.
    • Westbound traffic will perform the same operation at West 9 1/2 Mile Road.

o   U.S. 29 traffic between Interstate 10 and 9 1/2 Mile Road may experience alternating lane closures as crews continue drainage and paving operations.

·         Nine Mile Road (S.R. 10/U.S. 90A) Widening from Pine Forest Road to U.S. 29 – Drivers will experience alternating lane closures at the intersection of Nine Mile Road and Pine Forest Road from 8 p.m. Friday, July 26 to 6 a.m. Monday, July 29 as crews reconstruct the intersection.  Traffic control officers will be on-site to help direct traffic.

• U.S. 98 Pensacola Bay Bridge Replacement Bridge- Bridge construction may require the following lane closures from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday, July 21 through Sunday, July 28:

• • Intermittent lane closures on U.S. 98 east and westbound, from North 14th Avenue in Pensacola to 2,000-feet east of the Pensacola Bay Bridge in Gulf Breeze.
  • Intermittent lane closures on North 17th Avenue in Pensacola, between U.S. 98 and the CSX Railroad overpass (Graffiti Bridge).
  • U.S. 98 eastbound traffic (Pensacola to Gulf Breeze) will be shifted to the new Pensacola Bay Bridge Sunday evening, July 28 and U.S. 98 westbound (Gulf Breeze to Pensacola) Thursday, Aug. 1. The temporary configuration for the new bridge will provide two lanes of east and two lanes of westbound traffic, along with a center-lane reserved for emergency vehicles. A multiuse path for pedestrians and bicyclists is expected to be operational approximately two-months after the traffic shift.
  • From 8 p.m. Sunday, July 28 to 6 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 1, 17th Avenue will be closed to through traffic between Gregory Street and the CSX Railroad overpass. Drivers will be detoured using Ninth Avenue and Cervantes Street (U.S. 90). Access to the visitor’s center, boat ramp, and the Pensacola Bay Fishing Pier will be maintained for local traffic via 17th Avenue.

• U.S. 29 Resurfacing from south of County Road (C.R.) 184 (Muscogee Road) to State Road (S.R.) 97 (Atmore Highway)- Post mounted delineators have been erected between the Thrift Store and Cross Roads Dollar General to prevent cut-through traffic from Molino Road. Workers are clearing trees and shrubs and excavating for roadway widening at the Molino Road intersection. Drivers may encounter intermittent lane restrictions as crews and heavy equipment enter and exit the roadway.
• S.R.  727 (Fairfield Drive) from South of Usher Circle to North of Hestia Place- Traffic on Fairfield Drive from south of Usher Circle to north of Hestia Place remains shifted to the west as crews complete the installation of the box culvert under the roadway. The north entrance to Usher Circle is also temporarily closed to traffic during the drainage operation. Residents will utilize the south entrance of Usher Circle.
• Cervantes Street (S.R.10A) Underground Utility Operations at Covington Place-   The westbound inside lane will be closed near Covington Place from 8 p.m. Monday, July 22 to
  5 a.m. Tuesday, July 23 as crews perform underground utility work.
• Nine Mile Road (S.R. 10/U.S. 90A) Widening from Pine Forest Road to U.S. 29 – Drivers will experience alternating lane closures at the intersection of Nine Mile Road and Pine Forest Road from 8 p.m. Friday, July 26 to 6 a.m. Monday, July 29 as crews reconstruct the intersection to match the newly-constructed eastbound lanes. Traffic control officers will be on-site to help direct traffic.
• C.R. 168 Bridge Replacement over Unnamed Branch in Northwest Century-  Traffic was recently shifted to the temporary acrow bridge.   Activities associated with the bridge replacement project continue and are anticipated to be complete late 2019.
• Bratt Road Bridge Replacement over Canoe Creek - Bratt Road continues to be closed near Canoe Creek. Drivers on Bratt Road, west of the bridge, will be detoured to Pine Barren Road and C.R. 4.  Drivers east of the bridge will be detoured east on Bratt Road.  The project is anticipated to be complete summer 2019.
• Hanks Road Bridge Replacement over Breastworks Creek - Construction activities continue. The roadway will be temporarily closed during construction. Drivers on Hanks Road, west of the bridge, will be detoured to C.R. 99 and C.R. 4.  Drivers east of the bridge will utilize Pine Barren Road.  The project is anticipated to be complete late 2019.

Santa Rosa County:

• U.S. 98 Pensacola Bay Bridge Replacement Bridge- Bridge construction will require the following lane closures from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday, July 12 through Sunday, July 28:
  • Intermittent lane closures on U.S. 98 east and westbound, from North 14th Avenue in Pensacola to 2,000-feet east of the Pensacola Bay Bridge in Gulf Breeze.
  • Intermittent lane closures on North 17th Avenue in Pensacola, between U.S. 98 and the CSX Railroad overpass (Graffiti Bridge).
  • U.S. 98 eastbound traffic (Pensacola to Gulf Breeze) will be shifted to the new Pensacola Bay Bridge Sunday evening, July 28 and U.S. 98 westbound (Gulf Breeze to Pensacola) Thursday, Aug. 1. The temporary configuration for the new bridge will provide two lanes of east and two lanes of westbound traffic, along with a center-lane reserved for emergency vehicles. A multiuse path for pedestrians and bicyclists is expected to be operational approximately two-months after the traffic shift.
  • From 8 p.m. Sunday, July 28 to 6 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 1, 17th Avenue will be closed to through traffic between Gregory Street and the CSX Railroad overpass. Drivers will be detoured using Ninth Avenue and Cervantes Street (U.S. 90). Access to the visitor’s center, boat ramp, and the Pensacola Bay Fishing Pier will be maintained for local traffic via 17th Avenue.
• I-10 Widening from the Escambia Bay Bridge to Avalon Boulevard (S.R. 281/Exit 22) – The following construction related traffic impacts are planned for Interstate 10 and Avalon Boulevard from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday, July 21 through Thursday, July 25:

• Alternating lane closures, Sunday through Thursday, on Avalon Boulevard near the I-10 interchange as crews perform construction activities.
• Alternating lane closures on I-10 from the Escambia Bay Bridge to east of Avalon Boulevard (Exit 22), Sunday through Thursday, as crews work to place final striping and to finish work list items.

• I-10 Routine Bridge Inspection over Garcon Point Road- East and westbound traffic will encounter intermittent lane closures from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. Sunday, July 21 through Thursday, July 26 as crews perform a routine inspection on the bridges.
• S.R. 87 Pavement Markings Replacement- Traffic will encounter alternating and intermittent minor delays at the following locations from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday through Friday until Thursday, July 30 as crews remove and replace pavement markings in the roadway. Law enforcement will be on site to direct traffic:
  • U.S. 90 to Nicholas Lake Road
  • U.S. 98 to Vonnie Tolbert Road

• S.R. 87 Multilane from Eglin AFB boundary to Hickory Hammock Road– All north and southbound travel lanes on State Road (S.R.) 87, between C.R. 184 (Hickory Hammock Road) and two miles south of the Yellow River are now open and the speed limit is now 65 mph. Drivers will encounter intermittent lane closures as crews complete construction activities and the speed limit is reduced to 45 mph through the active work zones.

All activities are weather dependent and may be delayed or rescheduled in the event of inclement weather.

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