ECUA: Test Showing Salmonella In Compost Was Incorrect
April 12, 2018
Days after compost from the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority tested positive for Salmonella, follow up testing indicated the positive test result was incorrect.
On Friday, ECUA notified the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) that a monthly test on the compost had tested positive for Salmonella in excess of the allowable limits.
“Upon notification, the department advised ECUA to immediately contact customers who received the material to inform them of potential exposure, to resample the material to confirm the results, and to retrieve delivered compost where feasible,” Brandy Smith, a spokesperson for FDEP, said.
Nathalie Bowers, ECUA public information officer, said Wednesday that a retest did not show any indication of Salmonella.
“This would indicate that the sample result received last Thursday, which caused concern and only affected customers who had received compost on or after March 20, was a false positive or possibly a lab error,” she said.
Bowers said she expected ECUA to resume normal compost operations on Thursday.
“A review of ECUA’s compliance history since 2016 revealed that ECUA has been in compliance with sampling requirements for the biosolids compost and results for all required parameters have been within regulatory limits,” Smith said.
ECUA’s Emerald Coast Bloom compost is created using a combination of yard waste — such as leaves, grass and pine straw — and biosolids –treated sewage sludge that meets high standards.
File photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Win Home Opener
April 12, 2018
In a showdown of the defending Southern League champions, Pensacola used stellar pitching and timely hitting to squeak past the Lookouts in the Blue Wahoos home opener.
The celebrations started early throughout the stadium. Fans came early to watch the presentation of the championship rings to returning members of last year’s winning team. Once the hardware was passed out, the Blue Wahoos raised their first ever championship banner beyond the center-field wall.
Once the players took the field, Daniel Wright (W, 1-1) made sure the applause didn’t end there. The Memphis native bounced back from his Opening Day struggles and neutralized Chattanooga’s bats through six innings. He held the defending North Division champs to just one run on three hits while striking out three. After running into a slight hiccup in the first inning, Wright was in total control retiring the next 11 Lookouts in-a-row.
Pensacola’s offense turned in a total team effort, with four different Wahoos producing RBIs and six different fish scoring runs. Chadwick Tromp turned in a 2-for-4 performance for his first multi-RBI effort of the season and Gavin LaValley added his team-leading sixth RBI of the season.
The Wahoos used small ball to open the scoring in the third. Shed Long led off the inning with a single and then stole second base off Lookouts starter Zack Littell (L, 0-1). LaValley followed by poking a single into right to score Long.
Pensacola added two more in the fourth thanks to clutch hitting by Taylor Sparks and Tromp. After an O’Grady double, followed by a stolen base. On a 3-2 pitch, Sparks lined a single to left to double the Blue Wahoos advantage. That’s when Tromp doubled down the left-field line to score Sparks for his first of two RBIs.
It appeared Pensacola put the game out of reach when Guerrero crushed his first home run of the season off Zack Jones in the seventh to make it a 6-1 lead. Last season, Guerrero didn’t record his first homerun at Blue Wahoos Stadium until July 25.
The Lookouts saved their best for last with a furious ninth inning rally that nearly ruined the Blue Wahoos party. Carlos Navas struggled out of the bullpen and issued walks to Chris Paul and Zander Wiel before surrendering a three-run home run to T.J. White to make it a 6-4 game.
Jody Davis opted for a change and called upon Robinson Leyer to record the final two outs of the game. Leyer’s command was never in tune and he hit Wynston Sawyer with a pitch before walking Ryan Walker. Again, Davis went to the bullpen and this time brought in left hander Brennan Bernardino to pitch to the left-handed hitting Nick Gordon.
Gordon singled into right field to bring home Sawyer, but as Walker tried to go first-to-third, right-fielder Aristides Aquino unleashed a spectacular throw to third base to throw out Walker. Bernardino then froze Tanner English to pick up an unexpected first save of the season.
Pensacola Sears Store Closing
April 12, 2018
The Sears store in Pensacola will close this summer.
The Davis Highway store location, which opened 44 years ago, will close by mid-July. Liquidation sales will begin April 27.
The store was among over 250 Sears and Kmarts sold to Seritage Growth Properties and then leased back to Sears Holdings.
Century Apartment Complex Parking Lot Death Not Believed To Be Foul Play
April 11, 2018
Foul play does not appear to be involved in a death Wednesday morning in the parking lot of a Century apartment complex.
Maj. Andrew Hobbs, spokesman for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, said a preliminary investigation does not show any signs of foul play in death of a man found dead inside a vehicle.
The Nissan Altima was in the parking lot of the new Century Park Apartments on Second Street, just east of the Billy G. Ward Courthouse and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Century Precinct. The vehicle came to rest against a curb and was not in a marked parking space.
There’s no word on how long the man may have been in the vehicle or the cause of his death.
Escambia County EMS and Escambia Fire Rescue responded to the scene about 6:40 a.m., and the individual was pronounced deceased at the scene.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Convicted Felon Arrested On Weapons Charges
April 11, 2018
A traffic stop led to the arrest of a convicted felon on weapons charges.
Ronald Wayne Boone, age 40 of Walnut Hill, was charged with carrying an unsecured firearm in a motor vehicle and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
An Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputy stopped Boone on Johnson Avenue for seat belt violation. The deputy’s report states Boone admitted to not wearing a seat belt, and he was acting in an apparent nervous manner, unable to sit still and visibly shaking.
The deputy located a loaded .38 special revolver under the driver’s seat, according to the arrest report. The firearm had been reported stolen in Georgia.
Boone, who has seven prior felony convictions, denied knowledge of the firearm and said the vehicle is owned by his father.
Boone remained in the Escambia County Jail Wednesday morning with bond set at $30,000.
Appeals Court Overturns Blackwater ‘Deer Dog’ Hunting Ruling
April 11, 2018
A divided appeals court Tuesday overturned a ruling that would have forced state game officials to rein in “deer dog” hunting that some Northwest Florida residents argue has infringed on their property and created a nuisance.
The ruling by a panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal came after a long-running legal battle involving the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and people who own property adjoining the state Blackwater Wildlife Management Area.
“Deer dog” hunting, as the name implies, involves hunters using dogs to flush out deer and has long been allowed in the Blackwater Wildlife Management Area. But the legal battle stems from hunters and dogs trespassing on adjoining private land, with property owners alleging they have been threatened by hunters and have been subject to other problems such as graffiti and arson.
Property owners filed a lawsuit in 2016, seeking to prevent deer-dog hunting in the wildlife-management area. The lawsuit included what is known as a “takings claim” — essentially arguing that the deer-dog problems were so serious that they were depriving the owners from enjoying their property, according to Tuesday’s ruling. Also, the lawsuit sought an injunction to require the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to “abate” the nuisance on the private property.
Leon County Circuit Judge Karen Gievers denied a request by the commission for summary judgment that would have scuttled the case and issued an injunction requiring the commission to abate the problem. The commission took the dispute to the 1st District Court of Appeal, where a majority of the three-judge panel Tuesday rejected the injunction and sent the case back for entry of summary judgment in favor of the commission.
In part, the majority opinion said a successful takings claim would require property owners to show that the commission required them to submit to a permanent occupation of their land or that a commission regulation imposed a condition that “deprived them of all economically beneficial use of their land.”
“Here, appellees (the property owners) do not, and cannot, allege that the FWC (the commission) has forced them to submit to a permanent physical occupation of their land,” said the majority opinion, written by appeals-court Judge Lori Rowe and joined by Chief Judge Brad Thomas. “The alleged physical occupation — i.e., sporadic trespasses by deer dog hunters and their dogs during the 44 days of the year when deer dog hunting is authorized — is transitory, not permanent. And the handful of trespasses that have occurred on each of appellees’ individual properties do not rise to the level of a permanent, physical occupation of appellees’ property.”
The opinion added: “Neither do the appellees allege that the FWC has deprived them of all economically beneficial use of their property. Rather, appellees allege that they were deprived of their right to exclude people from their property during deer dog hunting season. But this allegation ignores the fact that appellees are free to exclude the deer dog hunters and dogs from their property by pursuing criminal or civil remedies against the trespassing hunters and owners of the deer dogs. The FWC has not deprived appellees of any right to pursue the third-party wrongdoers.”
Rowe also wrote that sovereign immunity — a legal concept that helps shield government agencies from lawsuits — blocked nuisance-related claims in the lawsuit.
But Judge Joseph Lewis Jr. wrote a 13-page dissent arguing that Gievers’ ruling should be upheld.
In part, Lewis wrote that “appellees should be permitted to pursue their claims that appellant’s (the commission’s) alleged failure to regulate or exercise control over deer dog hunters and their dogs has created a nuisance. While, as stated, appellant’s decision to allow deer dog hunting in the Blackwater WMA is a discretionary or planning-level decision, appellant offers no legitimate reason why it should not then be responsible for ensuring that hunters and their dogs are not creating a nuisance for adjacent property owners.”
The wildlife-management area is in Okaloosa and Santa Rosa counties. The ruling said private property is interspersed in the wildlife-management area, which it described as a “patchwork-like composition” that stems from how the state buys land for conservation and recreational purposes
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
Two Charged With Contraband, Prohibited Activity At Atmore Prison
April 11, 2018
Update/Editor’s Note: The Alabama Department of Corrections on Wednesday said contraband was found near the fence at Fountain prison, not thrown over the fence at Holman prison as originally stated by the Escambia County (AL) Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday. The story has been updated to reflect the ADOC statement.
Agents with the Alabama Department of Corrections Investigations and Intelligence Division arrested two suspects on Monday for attempting to smuggle contraband into a state prison in southwest Alabama.
At approximately 12:30 a.m., a K-9 unit from the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore observed a suspicious vehicle parked at the facility’s entrance gate. Agents detained and questioned two female suspects who were found inside the vehicle.
After detaining the suspects, corrections officials early Monday found a package near the perimeter fence of the G.K. Fountain Correctional Facility located approximately one mile from the Holman facility. The package contained cellphones, cellphone chargers and a controlled substance.
In their investigation, agents were led to a local business where they arrested 25-year-old Jafarris Williams of Montgomery. After questioning Williams, one of the two female suspects and owner of the vehicle, 26-year-old Curnasha Leshaye Thomas, also of Montgomery was arrested. Williams and Thomas were charged with promoting prison contraband and prohibited activity on state property. Thomas was also charged with possession of marijuana, second-degree. The second female suspect was not charged.
Williams and Thomas booked into the Escambia County Detention Center in Brewton.
Century Utility Customers Can Now View, Pay Bills Online
April 11, 2018
Town of Century water and gas customers can now view and pay their bills online. Emailed invoiced are also available, along with alerts via email, text or phone call.
There’s also a change coming to bills — Town of Century utility bills that are mailed will now be on two postcards — one for water, sewer and garbage, and one for gas.
Utility customers that do not choose a new delivery method will continue to receive their bills by regular mail.
For a more information and a signup form, click here.
Broxson Gears Up For 2020 Re-election Bid
April 11, 2018
Though he will not be on the ballot this year, Sen. Doug Broxson, R-Gulf Breeze, has started piling up money for a 2020 reelection bid, according to newly filed finance reports. Broxson raised $47,000 in March, bringing his overall total to $88,778 as he plans to seek another term in Senate District 1, which is made up of Escambia, Santa Rosa and part of Okaloosa counties.
The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.
Byrneville Elementary Releases Honor Roll
April 11, 2018
Byrneville Elementary School named the following students to their honor roll for the third nine weeks of the school year:
Mrs.Barberree-Kindergarten
All Satisfactory
- Tyrus Bradley
- Trusten Brown
- Lainey Dunsford
- Maggy Dunsford
- Madelyn Faulk
- Russell LeMesurier
- Hailey Levins
- Keaten Odom
- Sawyer Odom
- Cam’Ron Reed
Mrs. Seales-Kindergarten
All Satisfactory
- Tyree Baker
- Zacharie Barrow
- Jayden Carter
- Kyle Lowery
- Alydia Sutton
- Nevaeh Tidd
- Natalia White
- Caesar Whorff
- Madyson Wiggins
- Zane Therrell
Mrs. Slade-Kindergarten
All Satisfactory
- Madison Brazwell
- Rilee Campbell
- Eli Evans
- Douglas Maxwell
- Kinsley McKinnon
- Bentley Sanders
- Maryann Tedder
- Jakiyrah Thomas
Ms. Brown-1st Grade
“A” Honor Roll
- Ethan Carter
- Allison Grant
- Brooklyn Miller
- Bryce Miller
- Finley Miller
- Kaden Smith
- Ember Claire Waters
- Bryce Yoder
“A/B” Honor Roll
- McKenzie Griffis
- Ty Jackson
- Emily Jones
Mrs. Kitchin- 1st Grade
“A” Honor Roll
- Anastacia Cooley
- A/zariyah Elliott
- Olivia Levins
- Natalie Rogers
“A/B” Honor Roll
- Bryce Giger
- Ashanti Manuel
- SaRai McKee
- Tyson Milliken
- Brody Rigby
Mrs. Linton-2nd Grade
“A/B” Honor Roll
- Jaxon Anderson
- Blaine Buckhault
- Madelyn Calloway
- Callie Campbell
- Elizabeth Gilley
- Emma Godwin
- Brylen Hadley
- Meeyah Lassitter
- Katelyn Levins
- Lola Weldon
Mrs. Moorhead-2nd Grade
“A” Honor Roll
- Briley Beers
- Lyla Calloway
“A/B” Honor Roll
- Sydney Little
- Nicholas Long
- Mason McKinnon
- Darien Smith
- Olivia Thomas
- Audrina Woods
- Zane Weaver
Mrs. Dunsford-3rd Grade
“A” Honor Roll
- Aleah Livingston
- Jase Portwook
“A/B” Honor Roll
- Valeria Franco
- Warner Maxwell
- Isaiah Phifer
- Trenton Wright
Mrs. Weaver-3rd Grade
“A” Honor Roll
- Lexi Bingham
- Cannon Whorff
- Allison Yoder
“A/B” Honor Roll
- Michael Brazwell
- Taylor Curtis
- Kayden Harvell
- Gabrielle Hawsey
- Preston Hudson
- Layla Jordan
- Caleb Levins
- Crest Waters
Mrs. Marshman-4th Grade
“A” Honor Roll
- Elizabeth Coleman
- Luke Godwin
- Savannah Hudson
- Christian Velazquez
“A/B” Honor Roll
- Tyler Carach
- Easten Odom
- Mary-Clayton Dawson
- Ryder Lee
- Makenzie Levins
- Bree Robertson
- Evelyn Smith
Mrs. Thornton-4th Grade
“A” Honor Roll
- Braxton Wagner
“A/B” Honor Roll
- London Brooks
- Jaycee Harvell
- Andrew Plant
- Charlee Weaver
Mrs. Johnston-5th Grade
“A” Honor Roll
- Zack Herndon
- Brian Yoder
“A/B” Honor Roll
- Gavin Beasley
- Logan Bevins
- Luke Diamond
- Raegan Kimmons
- Mia Kornegay
- Evin Matlock
- Allie Odom
- Mia Turner-White
Ms. Singleton-5th Grade
“A” Honor Roll
- Kerissa Dortch
- Maddie Mae Driskell
- Madison Levins
- Riley Long
- Addisen Miller
“A/B” Honor Roll
- Tripp Curtis
- Braden Glick
- Jade Howell
- Jaci Jackson
- Kelan Jurey
- Blake Shaw
- Mallory Smith