3-Year Old Girl Shot By Her Father Has Died
July 22, 2019
The 3-year shot Saturday by her father has passed away.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office says Terrence D. Jackson shot the child twice before turning the gun on himself on Wyoming Street, near the Fairfield Drive and New Warrington Road spur just before 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
Jackson picked up his toddler from the mother’s home, walked about about 100 yards away and then shot the child twice in the head before shooting himself, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Jackson was pronounced deceased at the scene.
AAA: Seesaw At The Pump Now, Gas Prices Expected Decline In The Coming Days
July 22, 2019
The summertime seesaw at the pump continues this week. After rising 7 cents early last week, Florida gas prices are moving lower once again.
The average price for Florida gasoline is $2.67 per gallon. The state average is 4 cents more than this time last week and 23 cents more than a month ago. However, Florida drivers are paying 13 cents less than this year’s high, and 10 cents per gallon less than this time last year.
The average price per gallon for regular unleaded was $2.62 on Sunday, down a penny from a week ago, but up 11 cents from a month ago.
In North Escambia, gas was as low as $2.49 Sunday night at stations at Highway 29 and Muscogee Road.
“After quickly rising last week, Florida gas prices are already on their way back down,” said Mark Jenkins, spokesman, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “Prices at the pump are falling at an average rate of one penny per day. The state average could reach $2.55 per gallon in the next two weeks, unless futures prices quickly change course.”
County Acquiring Gonzalez Property For Possible Public Safety Training Facility
July 22, 2019
Escambia County is acquiring a piece of property in Gonzalez that a commissioner says is crucial in plans for a new public safety training facility.
The county has 14.5 acres near Old Chemstrand Road and 90 & 9 Ranch Road, the site of the now-closed Escambia Charter School. The property had no frontage on Chemstrand Road.
The 0.67 acres being acquired in the 1600 block of Old Chemstrand Road will provide better access to the former charter school site with 500 feet of Old Chemstrand frontage. The 0.67 acres is being purchased for $25,000 from Hussein S. and Anne B. Sharaway.
“I do anticipate and support going forward with the public safety training facility being put on this property,” said Commissioner Steven Barry.
The county is working on evicting a cell phone tower that is on about two acres of the former school property, as well as moving four modular buildings to other areas. A couple of buildings may remain that will be demolished.
“Then we can start to talk about how to put the public safety training facility on that property that we already own,” Barry said.
The Escambia County Commission has not yet taken any formal action to construct the public safety training facility. The Escambia Charter School closed after 22 years at the end of the 2017-2018 school year due to declining enrollment.
Pictured above: This map shows property being acquired by Escambia County to provide better access to current county property. Pictured below: The county is working to evict this cell phone tower from their current acreage. Images for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
M-Braves Earn Three Game Sweep Of The Blue Wahoos
July 22, 2019
The Blue Wahoos gave themselves an early reason to believe Sunday’s game might evolve differently than others in the past week.
They staked a 3-0 lead in the third inning. It was already the most runs generated in six games. Starting pitcher Jorge Alcala was coming off two solid starts.
But it changed quickly after the Mississippi Braves scored four runs in the bottom of the third, chased Alcala, then kept on hitting into an 8-3 win and three-game sweep of the weather-shortened series in Pearl, Miss. The teams did not play Saturday night due to heavy rain in the area.
What started positive became the Blue Wahoos’ season-high, sixth consecutive loss. It was the team’s 13th defeat in the past 15 games. It has dropped the Blue Wahoos (49-50 overall, 11-18 second half) under .500 overall for the first time this season, after they won the first three games to start the 2019 season in April.
The M-Braves (46-52, 13-16), got a career-high eight innings pitched from starter Joey Wentz, plus bashed a season-high 18 hits against five Blue Wahoos pitchers. The M-Braves won their fourth consecutive game.
The Blue Wahoos will now try to shake this slide at home Monday when beginning a five-game series against the Mobile BayBears.
It will be the BayBears final appearance in Pensacola as a franchise. The team will relocate in 2020 to Madison, Ala., just outside of Huntsville, changing into the Rocket City Trash Pandas.
The M-Braves launched their offense Sunday without a home run and only two extra-base hits among the 18 they produced. Six of the batters in the lineup had multiple hits, led by catcher William Contreras, who went 4-for-5 with three RBI in the first 4-hit day of his Double-A career.
Earlier in Sunday’s game, however, it was the Blue Wahoos with a busy day at the plate. In the first inning, Alex Kirilloff single, then went to second after Trevor Larnach was hit by a pitch from Wentz.
Lewin Diaz followed with an RBI single. Caleb Hamilton hit a sacrifice fly to score Larnach. After a wild pitch sent Diaz to second, Mark Contreras lined out to first base to end the inning.
In the top of the third, Larnach blasted his first Double-A home run on a deep shot over the center field wall, giving the Blue Wahoos a 3-0 lead.
The good vibe changed when four of the first five M-Braves batters reached base in the bottom of the third. Alejandro Salazar started the rally with a lead off triple, then scored on Ray-Patrick Didder’s single.
Drew Waters following a one-out single to score Didder. After Ryan Casteel walked and Contreras made his only out in the game on a fly out, Alcala (5-7, 6.36 ERA) was lifted for Anthony Vizcaya.
He was promptly greeted by two consecutive RBI singles and a walk to drive in two runs. Salazar came back around to bat and laced a hard liner that Larnach caught in right field to end the inning.
The score stayed 4-3 in the M-Braves favor until they scored a run in the sixth. Contreras’ RBI single provided a 5-3 lead. In the seventh, the M-Braves forced the Blue Wahoos to use two relievers in the inning, as they scored three more runs.
The Blue Wahoos were held to five hits, one walk by Wentz (5-7, 4.26 ERA), who struck out five.
Kirriloff went 2-for-4 to boost his average to .281 and was the only Blue Wahoos batter with multiple hits.
The Blue Wahoos will begin the homestand with Mobile on Monday.
Fire Heavily Damages Escambia County Gun Store
July 22, 2019
An Escambia County gun store was heavily damaged by fire Sunday night.
The two-alarm fire was reported about 9:30 p.m. at D.C. Guns on West Fairfield Drive and took over an hour to extinguish.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the State Fire Marshal. There were no injuries reported.
Numerous Escambia Fire Rescue stations responded to the fire, while stations as far away as Molino were put on standby to provide coverage for any other incidents.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Appeals Court Upholds Conviction Of Man That Robbed Century Coin Laundry, Fled With Loot In Plastic Pumpkin
July 21, 2019
An appeals court has upheld the conviction of a Century man that robbed a Century laundromat and made his getaway with the loot in a plastic Halloween pumpkin.
In January 2018, William Edward Perry, Jr. was sentenced to 20 years in state prison by Circuit Judge Gary Bergosh as a prison releasee reoffender and as a habitual felony offender. That means Perry will be required to serve the first 15 years of his sentence day for day as a mandatory minimum.
Perry, now 58, appealed, but the Florida First District Court of Appeal last week upheld the sentence.
He was convicted by an Escambia County jury of robbery with a weapon.
On April 21, 2016, Perry entered Century Laundry and Self Storage and committed a robbery. The victim, who was about 70-years old, was the store manager and was alone in the store when Perry entered. The victim was taking money out of the washers and dryers when Perry came up behind her and took the plastic Halloween bucket of money.
The pumpkin bucket contained approximately $300 in coins. Perry put his hand in her face, told her to get back, and to go sit down behind the counter. Perry then demanded she give him the keys to the store. When the victim refused, Perry fled the scene without the keys but with the money in the pumpkin bucket.
The victim later identified Perry from a photo lineup.
Pensacola Police located Perry panhandling near the intersection of Pace and Cervantes in May 2016. When officers approached, he ran before falling down and scuffling with officers before being taken into custody. He was charged with battery, two counts of resisting an officer and obstructing police by the Pensacola Police Department. Those charges were later dismissed.
Perry’s criminal record includes escape, burglary, grand theft, resisting officer with violence, and possession of cocaine as well as numerous misdemeanor offenses, including indecent exposure, according to the State Attorney’s Office.
He is currently served out his sentence at the Suwannee Correctional Institution in Live Oak. He is currently set for release in 2036.
Florida To Require Mental Health Instruction In Grades 9-12
July 21, 2019
Florida will require every public school in the state to provide students with at least five hours of mental health instruction beginning in the sixth grade under a mandate that was approved by the state Board of Education.
The state will now require school districts to annually provide a minimum of five hours of instruction to grades 6-12 students related to youth mental health awareness and assistance. The instruction must include awareness an of signs and symptoms, the process of seeking help for themselves or others and what to do or say to peers struggling with mental health disorders. Students will also be made aware of resources such as the National Suicide Prevention Hotline.
In May, First Lady Casey DeSantis announced Hope for Healing Florida, a new multi-agency mental health and substance abuse campaign. The Hope for Healing Floridacampaign will leverage, in part, the resources of private sector partners to produce and distribute mental health and substance abuse resource materials throughout the state at no cost to taxpayers. Those resources will help guide families in need to meaningful help in a timely fashion.
“Ron and I have traveled the state and have heard from many families who voice concern about the struggles that adversely affect so many of our children,” Casey DeSantis said. We know that 50 percent of all mental illness cases begin by age 14, so we are being proactive in our commitment to provide our kids with the necessary tools to see them through their successes and challenges. Providing mental health instruction is another important step forward in supporting our families.”
Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran said, “This is just the beginning. It’s no secret that mental illness robs students of the ability to reach their full potential, and we are joining forces to combat this disease and give our students the tools they need to thrive. We are going to reinvent school-based mental health awareness in Florida, and we will be the number one state in the nation in terms of mental health outreach and school safety.”
Northview’s Stadium Prepped For Football Season With Help From EREC, Century Correctional
July 21, 2019
Tommy Weaver Memorial Stadium at Northview High School got a good cleaning Saturday in preparation for the upcoming football season.
The Northview Quarterback Club had help from Escambia River Electric Cooperative and inmates from the Century Correctional Institution (no students were on campus at the time).
The Chiefs hit the road August 16 for a kickoff classic game at Baker. They will be at home to open the regular season on August 23 against Lighthouse Christian.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Fourth Annual Barrineau Park Elementary Reunion Held (With Gallery)
July 21, 2019
The Fourth Annual Barrineau Park Elementary School Reunion was held Saturday at the Barrineau Park Community Center.
The reunion was for anyone that attended the school from its origin in 1938 until its closure in 2003. Attendees enjoyed lunch, live entertainment and plenty of fellowship.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com.
Barry Nominates Peters To Santa Rosa Island Authority
July 21, 2019
The Escambia County Commission has approved District 5 Commissioner Steven Barry’s nomination of Gary “Bubba” Peters of Cantonment to the Santa Rosa Island Authority.
Peters has worked in the Escambia County Property Appraiser’s Office for the past 16 years, rising through the ranks from a student position to chief deputy.
He holds an MBA in Business Administration from the University of West Florida,