Flomaton Police Seek Gas Station Burglars (With Video)
March 8, 2018
The Flomaton Police Department is searching for two burglars that targetting a Chevron Station on Highway 31 early Tuesday morning.
It is believed the duo made their getaway in a Crown Victoria or similar model vehicle. The vehicle did not have tinted windows and was dark or tan in color.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Flomaton Police Department at (251) 296-5811.
A video appears below, or click here.
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Mother Of Accused Atmore Shooter Charged With Attempted Murder
March 8, 2018
The mother of a teen accused in a shooting last week in Atmore has been arrested.
Yashetta McKenzie, 36, is charged with attempted murder. She was allegedly driving the car from which her son, 17-year old DeAndre Lamar Mitchell, opened fire, shooting 17-year old Trenton Atchison on the afternoon of February 27.
McKenzie is being held on a $150,000 bond. McKenzie drove Mitchell to the Atmore Police Department a shot time after the shooting. He was charged with attempted murder as an adult. Police say more arrests are possible in the case.
Police said Atchison was shot when Mitchell fired at a group of classmates gathered in a porch on the 300 block of East 4th Street off Martin Luther King Avenue. Officials believe the shooting may have been retaliation after a fight that happened at Escambia County High School in Atmore.
Atchison was conscious and able to identify Mitchell as the shooter.
House Approves School Safety Bill
March 8, 2018
Three weeks after Nikolas Cruz gunned down 14 students and three faculty members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida lawmakers Wednesday passed a sweeping school-safety bill that sparked bipartisan and racial divisions over gun issues.
The House in a 67-50 vote approved the proposal (SB 7026), after the fathers of two slain students watched hours of floor debate from the House gallery. The Senate had earlier passed the measure, which now goes to Gov. Rick Scott.
Andrew Pollack, whose 18-year-old daughter, Meadow, was among the students killed on Feb. 14, called the bill “the first step in enhancing the safety and security of our schools,” and, speaking for the 17 families, urged Scott to sign it into law.
“We thank the House and Senate for voting in favor of protecting our children, but more needs to be done and it’s important for the country to unite in the same way the 17 families united in support of this bill,” Pollack, reading from his cell phone, told reporters after the House vote Wednesday evening.
“On a personal note, my precious daughter Meadow’s life was taken, and there’s nothing I can do to change that. But make no mistake, I’m a father and I’m on a mission. I’m on a mission to ensure that I’m the last dad to ever read a statement of this kind. If you want to help me, and keep my children safe, I want you to follow me, because there’s strength in numbers, at remembermeadow.com,” he said.
Wednesday’s vote came after days of charged debate in the House and Senate, and after weeks of even more emotional advocacy by parents, students, teachers and others from the Parkland school and neighboring communities.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Coral Springs Democrat who graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High and served on the Parkland City Commission, gave a detailed account to a rapt chamber of the bloody scene he encountered when he and other lawmakers arrived at the school hours after the Valentine’s Day massacre.
Moskowitz broke down describing how his 4-year-old son’s pre-school teacher was giving him writing lessons when her daughter, Jamie Guttenberg, was shot dead at the high school.
He acknowledged that the bill did not go as far as many would like in imposing new gun restrictions, but he urged his colleagues to support it.
“This bill is necessary, but it’s not sufficient. It’s not enough. When major corporations around this country are ahead of us, we are behind. We should be leading, not following,” Moskowitz said.
He chided House members who throughout the day called the vote on the bill a difficult decision.
“This isn’t hard. Putting your kid in the ground is hard. This is a button. … Push the green button,” Moskowitz concluded, referring to the button for “yes” votes.
The $400 million package includes $69 million for early mental health screening and services, $97 million for school resource officers, $98 million for school-hardening grants, and $25 million to raze and rebuild the freshman building where the shooting spree occurred.
The bill also includes more than $67 million for a controversial program that has overshadowed the other elements of the bill: the “Coach Aaron Feis Guardian Program,” named after an assistant football coach who died after using his body to shield students from a hail of bullets from the AR-15 semiautomatic rifle that 19-year-old Cruz was charged with using to wreak havoc on the school he once attended.
The program, which was rebranded from the “school marshal” program to the “guardian” program, would allow specially trained school personnel, who are deputized by local sheriffs, to bring guns to schools. Schools boards and sheriffs would have to agree to implement the program for it to go into effect.
Black lawmakers fear the program could endanger minority students, who are more likely to be punished at school and could be unfairly targeted in an emergency, as could armed school personnel who are “black or brown.”
“I believe this is not a bad bill, but I believe this is a scary bill,” Rep. Cynthia Stafford, a black Democrat from Miami, said.
The bill is dangerous “because there is an implicit bias that exists against boys and girls of color,” Stafford said.
“I’m afraid that in an emergency situation, a black or brown student who may be running down the hall to get away like everyone else, who reaches for his or her cell phone to call their parent, may be seen not as a student, but as a shooter,” she said.
Black lawmakers also objected that the proposal fails to address gun violence that they maintain has disproportionately affected their communities.
“While there may be kids who are in fear of their lives when they’re going to school, and we don’t want that, I propose to you there are countless of our kids who are scared to step out of their front door,” said Rep. Al Jacquet, a black Democrat from Lantana “I have nothing to go to those families who lost their children … to say I’ve done something about gun violence.”
On the other end of the gun-control spectrum, Republicans are being targeted by gun-rights groups, including the powerful National Rifle Association, that oppose provisions in the bill that would raise the age from 18 to 21 and impose a three-day waiting period for the purchase of rifles and other long guns.
The measure would allow law-enforcement officials to seek court orders to seize guns from people who have shown they could be a danger to themselves or others.
But House Rules Chairman Jose Oliva, the bill sponsor, said raising the age for the purchase of rifles, an age already required for handguns, treats all weapons equally.
“This is not an infringement upon your right to bear arms. This is a judgment call about when you should be able to have that right,” said Oliva, a Miami Lakes Republican slated to take over as speaker in November.
If signed into law by Scott, the legislation would impose the first gun restrictions in Florida in nearly two decades.
The school-safety package, which quickly morphed into a debate about guns, overshadowed other business in the final days of the legislative session.
Students, parents and teachers flooded the Capitol, pleading with the Legislature, and Scott, to take action. Many Douglas High student survivors demanded a ban on assault-style weapons, along with a hike in the age to purchase rifles.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been inundated by emails and phone calls from opponents and supporters of the measure.
But supporters of the proposal, including the victims’ families and Parkland Mayor Christine Hunschofsky, called the proposal an important first step.
After nearly eight hours of debate, Oliva addressed the concerns about guns, beginning with the lack of an assault-weapons ban.
Oliva said handguns were used in the “great majority” of mass shootings after a federal ban on assault weapons, which has since expired, went into effect.
“But the rhetoric is something that makes people feel that you didn’t do anything,” Oliva said. “This is a deranged person that caused it. So we looked at it and say, what can we do about every step along the way.”
Scott has not said whether he will sign the measure, but he has said he opposes the three-day waiting period and is against arming teachers.
The Senate earlier this week watered down the guardian program, excluding teachers who “exclusively” work in the classroom from participating. But teachers who have additional duties, such as drama or track coaches, would be eligible.
Scott called the revised guardian program “a step in the right direction,” and said he would read the bill when it makes it to his desk.
“My goal is this never happens again in our state,” Scott, who will have 15 days to act on the bill after he receives it, told reporters Wednesday. “I’m going to review the bill line-by-line, and the group that I’m going to be talking to, the group that I care the most about right now, because it impacted them so much, is the families.”
Scott reiterated his opposition to “arming teachers,” saying he believes “we ought to be increasing our law enforcement presence.”
“I want law enforcement presence at all of our schools. So that’s what I’m going to focus on,” he said.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Free Festival Of Flight This Saturday In Molino
March 8, 2018
A Festival of Flight will be held Saturday in Molino.
Special demonstrations of drones and model planes will excite the guests with the marvels of technology, while bird presentations will amaze with nature. The event will be held at the Escambia County 4-H Livestock Facility at 5600 Chalker Road, just off South Highway 99.
The Pensacola MESS Hall, Audubon Florida, Escambia County 4-H, National Naval Aviation Museum, and the Northwest Florida Modelers are expected to take part.
Admission to the Festival of Flight is free and will be open 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
For more information, contact Carrie Stevenson at UF IFAS Extension at ctsteven@ufl.edu or 850-475-5230. Visit http://gulfcoastsciencefestival.org/schedule/ for a full schedule of other community events that are part of the Gulf Coast Science Festival.
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Lawmakers Looks For Agreenment In Opiod Battle
March 8, 2018
Lawmakers continued to negotiate the terms of opioid legislation Wednesday, with the Senate standing firm in its position that insurance companies should not put obstacles in the way of medication-assisted therapy.
The Senate took up a House opioids bill (HB 21) but tagged on an amendment that includes appropriating $54.5 million for such things as outpatient and residential treatment. It also would ban insurers and HMOs from using prior authorization or “step therapy” or making other requirements as a prerequisite to the use of medication-assisted therapy in treating substance abuse.
Senators are expected to vote on the bill Thursday and send it back to the House.
Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, said Wednesday night that the bill tackles the state’s growing opioid problem like the public health crisis that it is.
“For men and women who come forward and have an addiction who want help, they want to turn their lives around, they want to go back to work and be with their families … that should be treated as a public health issue, and I think this bill goes a long way toward that,” Negron said..
The original House bill did not have the medication-assisted treatment language, and it remains an issue the two chambers must hammer out before the 2018 legislative session ends in the coming days.
The centerpiece of the bill, however, may be a three-day limit on prescriptions for treatment of acute pain. Physicians could prescribe up to seven-day supplies of controlled substances if deemed medically necessary.
The Senate agreed with the House to exempt from the prescription limits cancer patients, people who are terminally ill, palliative care patients and those who suffer from major trauma. The bill also would require physicians or their staff members to check with a statewide database before prescribing or dispensing drugs.
As amended, the bill would earmark $991,000 for improvements to the database, known as the prescription drug monitoring program, so that it can interface with physicians’ offices and electronic health records used by doctors.
The bill, proponents of opioid limits say, will go a long way toward helping the state curb the use of opioids, which are narcotic painkillers that have caused widespread overdoses.
In 2016, heroin caused 952 deaths in Florida, fentanyl caused 1,390 deaths, oxycodone caused 723 deaths, and hydrocodone caused 245 deaths. Those statistics led Gov. Rick Scott in May 2017 to declare a state of emergency.
The $54.5 million in funding is a slight increase from an original Senate proposal of $53 million. Negron said the chambers haven’t finalized the opioid funding and that the amount of money could still increase. That would be good, said Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“My thoughts are $53 million is a great start for this year, but we need much more to combat that crisis overall,” she said.
by Christine Sexton, The News Service of Florida
SWAT Standoff Suspect In Custody; Deputy Receives Minor Injuries
March 7, 2018
A standoff has ended, a deputy is recovering and suspect in is custody after an incident in Escambia County Wednesday afternoon.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said the deputy received a minor injury after the a man fired “something” out of the house and shrapnel hit the deputy. The man then ran to a home near Avery Street and Hollywood Avenue and barricaded himself inside. The deputy’s injury was minor enough that he did not receive medial attention.
The suspect, 59-year old Dale Allen Brown, will face multiple charges including aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer, armed burglary and trespassing in the incident that began with a trespassing complaint.
A SWAT team surrounding the house in a standoff that last nearly two hours before Brown was taken into custody.
Pictured: Dale Allen Brown
Mayor: Company Moving Gas Pipeline Route Into Century Residential Neighborhoods
March 7, 2018
The company constructing a new underground natural gas pipeline wants to change their route and route the pipeline through several residential neighborhoods in Century, according to Mayor Henry Hawkins.
Florida Public Utilities is constructing the pipeline through North Escambia from Century to Nine Mile Road. Plans originally presented to the Century Town Council in April 2017 showed the pipeline along Fannie and Old Flomaton roads to Highway 4, then south on Highway 29 to Pensacola.
However, Hawkins said the company is abandoning plants to bore and place the pipeline under Highway 29 from Highway 4 south through the town. Instead, the mayor said the company plans to bury the 12-inch natural gas pipeline on the right of way on Jefferson Street to Salter’s Lake Road.
The Century Town Council will hold a special meeting at 2:15 p.m. Thursday to discuss the alternative pipeline route. Escambia County Commissioner Steven Barry said Tuesday that he expects a county representative to attend the meeting; Salters Lake Road is a county road outside the town limits.
The pipeline continues south from Century along Highway 29 right of way from Century to Old Chemstrand Road. From there, an eight-inch line will follow Old Chemstrand Road to Ascend, while another eight-inch line will continue south on Highway 29 to Highway 95A in Cantonment to West Roberts Road to Pine Forest Road to West Nine Mile Road where the project will connect to an existing gas system.
Pictured below: Plan originally submitted to the Town of Century shows natural gas pipeline along Highway 4 then south on Highway 29.
UPDATED: Male Bitten By Dog Near McDavid; Deputies Forced To Put Down Dog
March 7, 2018
[UPDATED 9:30 a.m.] A young adult male was bitten by a dog at home near McDavid Tuesday afternoon. The 19-year suffered injuries that were not considered serious.
The incident happened inside a residence in the 700 block of North Pine Barren Road, near Lambert Bridge Road. The owners of the dog reported that their child was eating popcorn when their 2.5-year old dog began charging toward their younger child. The victim grabbed the dog’s collar, and the dog turned and bit his arm, according to an Escambia County Animal Control report.
“The residents were laying on top of the dog that was reported as being highly aggressive when a responding deputy shot the dog in the head inside the home,” the report states.
The owners told animal control that the dog was properly vaccinated. Rabies testing was not possible due to the gunshot.
The victim refused transport by Escambia County EMS. The county report states that the parents were going to transport their son directly to the hospital.
The breed of the dog was not specified in the report.
The McDavid Station of Escambia Fire Rescue also responded to the scene.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Wreck Of USS Lexington Found After 76 Years; Ship Was Predecessor Of Pensacola’s Lady Lex
March 7, 2018
Wreckage from the USS Lexington has been discovered by the expedition crew of Research Vessel (R/V) Petrel, which is owned by Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Paul G. Allen. The Lexington was found 3,000 meters (approximately two miles) below the surface, resting on the floor of the Coral Sea more than 500 miles off the eastern coast of Australia.
“To pay tribute to the USS Lexington and the brave men that served on her is an honor,” Mr. Allen said. “As Americans, all of us owe a debt of gratitude to everyone who served and who continue to serve our country for their courage, persistence and sacrifice.”
As one of the first U.S. aircraft carriers ever built, the Lexington became known as “Lady Lex” and went down with 35 aircraft on board.
“Lexington was on our priority list because she was one of the capital ships that was lost during WWII,” said Robert Kraft, director of subsea operations for Mr. Allen. “Based on geography, time of year and other factors, I work together with Paul Allen to determine what missions to pursue. We’ve been planning to locate the Lexington for about six months and it came together nicely.”
The USS Lexington was originally commissioned as a battlecruiser but was launched as an aircraft carrier in 1925. She took part in the Battle of the Coral Sea (May 4-8, 1942) along with the USS Yorktown against three Japanese carriers. This was the first carrier versus carrier battle in history and was the first time Japanese forces suffered a permanent setback in its advances on New Guinea and Australia. However, the U.S. lost the Lexington and 216 of its distinguished crew.
The Lexington had been hit by multiple torpedoes and bombs on May 8 but it was a secondary explosion causing uncontrolled fires that finally warranted the call to abandon ship. The USS Phelps delivered the final torpedoes that sank the crippled Lady Lex, the first aircraft carrier casualty in history. With other U.S. ships standing by, 2,770 crewmen and officers were rescued, including the captain and his dog Wags, the ships ever-present mascot.
During the Battle of the Coral Sea the Japanese navy sank USS Lexington (CV-2), USS Sims (DD-409), and USS Neosho (AO-23), and damaged the USS Yorktown. The Japanese lost one light carrier (Shōhō) and suffered significant damage to a fleet carrier (Shōkaku).
“As we look back on our Navy throughout its history, we see evidence of an incredible amount of heroism and sacrifice. The actions of Sailors from our past inspire us today,” said Sam Cox, Director of the Naval History and Heritage Command and retired U.S. Navy Rear Adm. “So many ships, so many battles, so many acts of valor help inform what we do now.”
The Battle of the Coral Sea was notable not only for stopping a Japanese advance but because it was the first naval engagement in history where opposing ships never came within sight of each other. This battle ushered in a new form of naval warfare via carrier-based airplanes. One month later, the U.S. Navy surprised Japanese forces at the Battle of Midway, and turned the tide of the war in the Pacific for good.
Based on some initial success with his M/Y Octopus, Mr. Allen acquired and retrofitted the 250-foot R/V Petrel with state-of-the-art subsea equipment capable of diving to 6,000 meters (or three and a half miles). Since its deployment in early 2017, the ship was active in several missions in the Philippine Sea before its transition to the Coral Sea off the Australian Coast.
Allen-led expeditions have also resulted in the discovery of the USS Indianapolis (August 2017), USS Ward (November 2017), USS Astoria (February 2015), Japanese battleship Musashi (March 2015) and the Italian WWII destroyer Artigliere (March 2017). His team was also responsible for retrieving the ship’s bell from the HMS Hood for presentation to the British Navy in honor of its heroic service. Mr. Allen’s expedition team was permanently transferred to the newly acquired and retrofitted R/V Petrel in 2016 with a specific mission around research, exploration and survey of historic warships and other important artifacts.
Photos courtesy Paul G. Allen for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge
County Receives 77 Applications For Escambia Fire Rescue Chief Job
March 7, 2018
There were 77 people that applied for the Escambia Fire Rescue chief job to replace former Chief Patrick Grace who was relieved of duties in late January.
Local applicants include Molino District Fire Chief Anthony Manning, Ferry Pass District Fire Chief Michael Aaron, current Pensacola Fire Chief David Allen, former Pensacola Fire Chief Matt Schmitt and former Pensacola Deputy Fire Chief Joseph Glover (a current part time ECFR employee), and current ECFR lieutenants Daniel Akerman and Richard Bode.
Applicants are, in alphabetical order:
- Aaron, Michael A.
- Adams, John D.
- Akerman, Daniel Augustus
- Allen, David E.
- Anderson Jr, Paul
- Banta, Oral W.
- Baskett, Burney K
- Beaty Jr, William D.
- Blackwell, Marion F.
- Bode, Richard C.
- Boudreaux, Richard Paul
- Brewer, Wesley R.
- Brinson, Derrick P.
- Brown, Melvin
- Buckley, Craig Nelson
- Bumgarner, Hal K.
- Collins, Larry L.
- Costo, Henry J.
- Cox, Stephen F.
- Davis, Michael Paul
- Demeter, Stephen L.
- Dickson, Patrick N.
- Dixon, Joseph W.
- Dyer Jr, Al G.
- Ferris, Robert C
- Fields, Thomas H.
- Fullenlove, Bruce. 0
- Gilcrease, Gavin C.
- Glover, Joseph A.
- Green, Bradley Terrance
- Guidry, Dennis Michael
- Harshburger, Daniel B.
- Horton, Don J.
- Hudson, Steven C.
- Hume, Robert K.
- Hussey, Jeff A.
- Johnson, Jeffrey S
- Kane, Michael P
- Keith, Craig L.
- Knowles, David L.
- Kolommt, Richard
- Lewis, Allen G.
- Long, Alan James
- Manning, Anthony P.
- Manuel, Kevin Blaine
- Marrison, Jerry L.
- McBride, Stephen W.
- Mitchell, Keith T.
- Mullen, Lonnie R.
- Nail, Russell Clark
- Naylo, Merrill
- Perry, Troy F.
- Priggemeie, Bryce Adam
- Reilly, Dennis P.
- Riley, Richard D.
- Risen, A Michael
- Rodriguez, Ronald A.
- Samarelll, James Sr.
- Sanchez, Richard L.
- Schmitt, Matthew J.
- Shutts, Ronnie L.
- Slayman, Donald R.
- Smith, Edward W.
- Smith, Paul Randall
- Smith, Stephen G.
- Soule, Timothy H.
- Stillwagon II, James A
- Swan Jr, Richard C.
- Swanson, Derrick E.
- Swartout, Brian R.
- Taylor, Vance A.
- Thomas Ill, Thomas A.
- Venegas, Edmundo
- Vinyard, William D.
- Voge, Michael “CJ”
- Woodworth, Steven P.
- Young, Christopher Kenneth
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.