Cantonment Man Charged With Bank Fraud, Grand Theft
September 26, 2023
A Cantonment man is charged with multiple felonies after allegedly depositing a counterfeit check and subsequently making withdrawals.
Travis Marchey Butler, Jr., 21, was charged with six felonies — bank fraud, grand theft, forgery, criminal use of personally identifiable information, uttering forged instrument, and using a two-way communications device to commit a felony. He was released on a $60,000 bond.
Butler allegedly deposited a counterfeit check at Gulf Winds Credit Union in the amount of $5,802.40 by mobile deposit and later withdrew $500 from an ATM, according to an arrest report. Authorities said he also made cash withdrawals of $200 and $400 from an ATM at a Cantonment Tom Thumb.
New 146 Lot Subdivision Planned For Highway 29, Quintette Road
September 26, 2023
A new 146 lot subdivision is proposed for the area of Quinette Road and Highway 29.
“Carrington Valley” would be located on 145.6 acres that front both Highway 29 and Quintette Road.
The development is being proposed by David W. Fitzpatrick for single family homes, according to Escambia County Development Review Committee (DRC) documents.
The proposal is in the initial staff internal review phase of the DRC process and has not yet been set for a public meeting.
This development is not related to a 134 lot subdivision proposed just to the south. Read more: New 134 Lot Subdivision Planned For Highway 29 Near Pinoak Lane
NorthEscambia.com graphics.
How Is The Air Quality? Find Out With New Escambia Monitoring Network
September 26, 2023
Escambia County’s Natural Resources Management department has launched a new air quality monitoring network with 12 air quality stations throughout the county. Each reports conditions in real-time, allowing citizens to make better-informed decisions for daily activities.
Visit MyEscambia.com/airquality to view the network.
Air quality monitoring provides the public with measurements of pollutant concentration levels in the ambient air, the portion of the atmosphere near ground level and external to buildings or other structures. Through the monitoring network, Escambia County provides the public with data on particle pollution, particulate matter, ozone and other parameters at each station.
Air quality stations report live current conditions from the following locations in Escambia County:
- Cantonment – Road Department, 601 Highway 297A
- ECFR - Molino Fire Station, 1459 Molino Road
- Century – Lake Stone Campground, 801 Highway 4
- Walnut Hill Community Center – 7850 Highway 97
- Beulah – Equestrian Center: 7750 Mobile Highway
- East Hill – Zamora Square: East Yonge Street
- Ferry Pass – Regency Park: 8245 Fathom Road
- Marie K. Young Wedgewood Community Center – 6405 Wagner Road
- Brownsville Community Center – 3200 West. Desoto Street
- Southwest Escambia Sports Complex – 2020 Bauer Road
- Perdido Key Fire Station – 15500 Perdido Key Drive
- Pensacola Beach – 25 Via de Luna Drive
New Program Will Provide Supplies For Escambia Teachers
September 26, 2023
A new Escambia County Public Schools program called “Tools for Teachers” aims to provide teachers the tools they need in the classroom without spending their personal money.
Teachers were surveyed to determine classroom supplies on which they spend their own money, and those items will be stocked in the store. The warehouse will order and stock the supplies, and package and deliver them to individual teachers at their schools. The Foundation will raise the funds through grants, donations and in-kind donations of products to stock the store.
More than half of the teachers surveyed spend over $400 per year on classroom supplies. This partnership will stock teachers’ top 12 most needed items, both traditional supplies and items such as healthy snacks, ziplock bags and bandaids.
“The Foundation is so excited about this new program supporting teachers. In partnership with the Escambia County Public Schools Warehouse, we have been working on this project for over a year, with a goal of supplying teachers with the items they most often spend their own money to purchase,” said ECPS Foundation Executive Director Jo McArthur. “With our launch, we will send supplies to all of our new teachers, helping them to be equipped with the supplies they need in their classrooms. We all know that teachers are hard working, dedicated and always go the extra mile. Our wish is to help ease their load financially through the ‘Tools for Teachers’ program.”
On October 1, ‘Tools for Teachers’ will roll out to 175 new teachers with an initial box of supplies. In January, teachers at high-need schools will be added. By next summer, the goal is to have all 2,700 teachers in the program
A prominent Pensacola business man, who wishes to remain anonymous, made a $50,000 contribution to launch the program.
The Foundation has three grant applications out that will provide additional funding. In addition to the access to free supplies, the program will get a lot more for its money, as the warehouse orders in bulk, and prices are typically less than one third of the retail price for each item.
Gomez, Cunningham Want To Keep Seats; Still Time To Qualify For Century Council, Mayor
September 26, 2023
The interim mayor and an interim council member were the only individuals to qualify Monday for an upcoming special election in Century.
Luis Gomez, Jr. qualified to see the office of mayor, and Henry Cunningham qualified for town council.
Candidates may still qualify for either seat from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Supervisor of Elections Office at 213 Palafox Place in Pensacola on Tuesday, September 26 or Wednesday, September 27.
Gomez was recently appointed interim mayor after the resignation of Ben Boutwell, and Cunningham was appointed on an interim basis to the council seat vacated by Gomez.
Pictured top: Luis Gomez, Jr. (left) and Henry Cunningham. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
After Game 1 Loss, Blue Wahoos Seek To Repeat Past In Championship Series
September 26, 2023
After Sunday’s opening-game loss, the Blue Wahoos now hope to repeat their comeback from a year ago in the Southern League Championship Series.
But it’s going to take another impressive turnaround.
The Tennessee Smokies produced a quick knockout in Game One, scoring eight runs in the first three innings, including a 5-run third inning, powering their way to an 8-4 win at Smokies Stadium in Kodak, Tennessee, located near Knoxville.
It’s now a do-or-die scenario for the Blue Wahoos when the second game occurs Tuesday night at Blue Wahoos Stadium. A third game, if necessary, in the short series will be Wednesday in Pensacola. The Blue Wahoos traveled all night Sunday back to Pensacola and the series has an off-day Monday.
This is a rematch of the 2022 SLCS and the Blue Wahoos do have history and home field on their side. The Blue Wahoos dropped the first game in Pensacola last year, then won twice on the road against the Smokies to claim their first outright Southern League title.
The Smokies, the Chicago Cubs affiliate, are seeking their first outright championship in 45 years as a minor league franchise. They shared the 2004 Southern League title with the Mobile BayBears when the playoffs were cancelled due to Hurricane Ivan.
When the Smokies won in 1978, Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa was the Tennessee skipper and the team was called the Knoxville Sox as the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox.
The Blue Wahoos, who went 7-4 in the regular-season matchups against Tennessee, are trying to become only the seventh team in Southern League history to win back-to-back titles.
That quest got off to a rocky start Sunday. Blue Wahoos starter Evan Fitterer struggled from the outset. He allowed leadoff batters to reach in the three innings he worked and couldn’t find a groove with his pitch command, which is something that has hurt him in recent starts.
He plunked Smokies’ leadoff batter Matt Shaw, the Cubs’ No. 1 draft pick in July, to start his outing. He then gave up a run-scoring double to BJ Murray, followed by a single to the third batter, Owen Caissie.
Fitterer then got a double-play ball that scored Tennessee’s second run, but helped him out of the inning. The scenario repeated in the second inning with a leadoff walk allowed, followed by a run scoring double by Ezequiel Pagan.
The Blue Wahoos bullpen was warming up in the third inning when Fitterer gave up another leadoff walk, a single and an RBI double by Haydn McGeary. Reliever Breidy Encarnacion was summoned with one out in the inning and he struggled as well.
After a walk to load the bases, Encarnacion hit the next batter to force home a run, then yielded consecutive RBI on a sacrifice fly and two singles to complete the explosive rally.
From that point, the Blue Wahoos relief corps of Jonathan Bermudez, Matt Pushard, Chandler Jozwiak and Caleb Wurster combined on five shutout innings.
Blue Wahoos shortstop Nasim Nunez drove in the team’s first run in the third inning on a sacrifice fly. He also played sensational defense, including a spectacular play in the seventh when he fielded a ball behind second, turned and threw across his body to first baseman Bennett Hostetler, who make leg split to record the out from a sitting position.
That play had the Smokies crowd of 3,382 applauding in appreciation. Nunez also scored the team’s second run in the top of the eighth when he walked, went to third on a single by Jose Mesa Jr. and scored on Paul McIntosh’s sacrifice fly.
The Blue Wahoos managed six hits – two from second baseman Cody Morissette – who temporarily spoiled the crowd celebration by hitting a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth inning.
The Smokies, who now have 14 of the Chicago Cubs’ Top 30 rated prospects, have won their past seven games and nine of their last 10, including a two-game sweep of the Chattanooga Lookouts – the Cincinnati Reds affiliate – in the Southern League North Division series.
They will send one of those top-rated players, righthander Cade Horton, the Cubs’ first-round pick in 2022, on the mound Tuesday night against the Blue Wahoos’ Luis Palacios, who was superb in his last start to beat the Montgomery Biscuits in the first game of the South Division playoffs last week.
Horton, 22, was a former star at Oklahoma and was elevated to Double-A in August. He is a finalist for the Minor League Baseball pitching prospect of the year. He has risen to the No. 2 best prospect in the Cubs organization.
The game on Tuesday will start at 6:05 p.m., a half-hour earlier than the Blue Wahoos regular-season, weekday starting times. The ceremonial first pitches will begin at 5:45 p.m. followed by the actual first pitch of the game at 6:05.
by Bill Vilona, photo Nino Mendez / Pensacola Blue Wahoos
FDC Announces New Prison Hiring Bonuses, Including $1K At Century, $6K At Santa Rosa
September 26, 2023
The Florida Department of Corrections has announced hiring bonuses of $1,000 at select prisons, including Century, and $6,000 retention pay at other prisons including the Santa Rosa Correctional Institution in Milton.
FDC correctional officers will start their careers at $22 an hour, or $48,620 annually. They will receive paid training, special high-risk retirement, and various opportunities for career advancement.
Selected institutions identified as “hard to fill” locations across the state offer $6,000 Retention Payments to certified correctional officers, sergeants, lieutenants, and captains. This comes in the form of a three-installment pay plan upon certification at the following institutions:
- Apalachee Correctional Institution (Sneads)
- Columbia Correctional Institution (Lake City)
- Florida State Prison (Raiford)
- Franklin Correctional Institution (Carrabelle)
- Gulf Correctional Institution (Wewahitchka)
- Hamilton Correctional Institution (Jasper)
- Jackson Correctional Institution (Malone)
- Mayo Correctional Institution (Mayo)
- Northwest Florida Reception Center (Chipley)
- Reception and Medical Center (Lake Butler)
- Santa Rosa Correctional Institution (Milton)
- Suwannee Correctional Institution (Live Oak)
- Taylor Correctional Institution (Perry)
- Union Correctional Institution (Starke)
- Wakulla Correctional Institution (Crawfordville)
Certified new hires are eligible to receive a $1,000 bonus at the following institutions:
- Calhoun Correctional Institution (Blountstown)
- Century Correctional Institution (Century)
- Charlotte Correctional Institution (Punta Gorda)
- Dade Correctional Institution (Florida City)
- Everglades Correctional Institution (Miami)
- Hardee Correctional Institution (Bowling Green)
- Holmes Correctional Institution (Bonifay)
- Liberty Correctional Institution (Bristol)
- Lowell Correctional Institution (Ocala)
- Madison Correctional Institution (Madison)
- Martin Correctional Institution (Indiantown)
- Okeechobee Correctional Institution (Okeechobee)
- Tomoka Correctional Institution (Daytona Beach)
- Walton Correctional Institution (DeFuniak Springs)
“There has been no better time than now to be a part of the Florida Department of Corrections,” said FDC Secretary Ricky Dixon. “I express my sincere gratitude to our Governor and the Florida legislature for recognizing that an investment in corrections is an investment in public safety. I am thrilled to observe the favorable outcomes of these extraordinary incentives and retention measures, enabling us to attract and retain the best correctional professionals nationwide.”
Cottage Hill Water Works Rescinds Boil Water Notice For Handy Road
September 25, 2023
THIS BOIL WATER NOTICE WAS RESCINDED ON SEPTEMBER 27.
A precautionary boil water notice has been issued for Cottage Hill Water Works customers on Handy Rod.
The boil water notice was issued following a water main break Monday due to construction work.
The utility is advising, as a precaution, that all water used for drinking, cooking, making ice, brushing teeth, or washing dishes be boiled. A rolling boil of one minute is sufficient. As an alternative bottled water may be used.
This precautionary boil water notice will remain in effect until the problem has been corrected and a bacteriological survey shows that the water is safe to drink.
The boil water notice was issued following a water main break.
This story will be updated when the advisory has been lifted.
Cantonment Man Charged With Meth Trafficking, Destroying Evidence, Fleeing
September 25, 2023
A Cantonment man is facing multiple felony charges after a traffic stop Sunday.
Charlie Clifford Davis, 53, was charged with trafficking methamphetamine, destroying evidence, marijuana possession, possession of drug paraphernalia, fleeing and eluding, and driving with a suspended license third or subsequent offense.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office attempted a traffic stop near Durand Avenue and Elliot Street. Deputies said the driver of the vehicle threw a clear plastic bag containing a “large quantity” of methamphetamine out of the driver’s side window and continued driving until eventually stopping.
Deputies located more methamphetamine in the driver’s floorboard area, the driver’s seat, and on the driver’s door of the vehicle, the ECSO said. Deputies also located marijuana and drug paraphernalia inside the vehicle.
Davis was identified as the driver of the vehicle and taken into custody. He was booked into the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $59,000.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Here Are This Week’s Road Construction Problem Spots
September 25, 2023
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:
- Interstate 10 (I-10) Escambia County Welcome Center – The truck parking lot at the Escambia County Interstate 10 Welcome Center, located at mile marker four, will be temporarily closed until the end of October when the Welcome Center improvements are scheduled to be complete. The front and middle car parking lots are open.
- East Nine Mile Road (U.S. 90A) Roadway Improvements from Chemstrand Road to east of Baldridge Drive – The bicycle lanes are temporarily closed to allow crews to widen the turn lanes and construct new five-foot bicycle lanes. In addition, the speed limit has been reduced from 45 mph to 35 mph as vehicles and bicycles share the roadway. The closure and speed limit reduction will be in place until the project is complete later this summer.
- U.S. 29 (North Century Boulevard) Resurfacing between Henry Street and Cottage Street in Century – Northbound and southbound traffic on U.S. 29 (North Century Boulevard) is shifted to one outside travel lane in each direction between Rudolph Street and Green Street. The shift will be in place through October as crews perform drainage improvements. Signage will be in place to safely direct drivers through the work zone.
- Lillian Highway (State Road (S.R.) 298) Resurfacing from north of U.S. 98 to east of Fairfield Drive (S.R. 727) and Lillian Highway at Blue Angel Parkway (S.R. 173) - Drivers will encounter the following lane closures on Lillian Highway from Friday, Sept. 22 through Friday, Sept. 29:
- Daytime lane closures from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., between U.S. 98 and Blue Angel Parkway, as crews perform drainage work.
- Nighttime lane closures from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., between Fairfield Drive and Blue Angel Parkway, as crews perform widening and driveway work.
- County Road (C.R.) 4 over Canoe Creek Bridge – C.R. 4, between Byrneville and Bratt, will be closed through fall 2024 as crews replace the Canoe Creek bridge. Traffic is directed through a 5.6-mile detour using Bratt Road to Pine Barren Road, then back to C.R. 4.
- North Palafox Street (U.S. 29/S.R. 95) Resurfacing from Cervantes Street (S.R. 10A) to Brent Lane (S.R. 296) – Drivers may encounter alternating lane closures, between Cervantes Street and Brent Lane, Friday, Sept. 22 through Friday, Sept. 29 from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. as crews perform sidewalk work.
- Mobile Highway (U.S. 90) Resurfacing from Nine Mile Road (U.S. 90A) to west of Pine Forest Road (S.R. 297) – Drivers may encounter nighttime lane closures, between Nine Mile Road and Pine Forest Road, Sunday, Sept. 24 through Thursday, Sept. 28 from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. as crews mill and pave the roadway.
- S.R. 29 Turn Lane Construction North of West Roberts Road at the new Ronny’s Car Wash – Motorists will encounter northbound inside lane closure Monday, Sept. 25 through Friday, Sept. 29 from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. for turn lane construction.
- S.R. 29 Turn Lane Construction North of Pinoak Road – Motorists will encounter northbound inside lane closure Wednesday, Sept. 27 and Friday, Sept. 29 from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. for turn lane construction.
- Beulah Road Turn Lane Closure at U.S. 90 – Motorists will encounter northbound turn lane closure at U.S. 90 Sunday, Sept. 24 through Friday, Sept. 29 for utility work.
- S.R. 291 Routine Utility Maintenance from Johnson Avenue to Copter Road – Drivers may encounter alternating lane closures Sunday, Sept. 24 through Thursday, Sept. 28 from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. for utility maintenance.
- S.R. 291 Routine Utility Maintenance from Olive Road to Johnson Avenue – Drivers may encounter alternating lane closures Sunday, Sept. 24 through Thursday, Sept. 28 from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. for utility maintenance.
- U.S. 90 Coring Operations from Alabama State Line to west of Beulah Road – Motorists will encounter nighttime lane closures Monday, Sept. 25 through Thursday, Sept. 28 from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. for coring operations.
- S.R. 297 Coring Operations from S.R. 173 to North of I-10 – Motorists will encounter nighttime lane closures Monday, Sept. 25 through Thursday, Sept. 28 from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. for coring operations.
Santa Rosa County:
- U.S. 98 Widening from Bayshore Road to Portside Drive – Motorists will encounter the following traffic impacts:
- Median and turn-lane closures from Bayshore Road to Tiger Point Drive.
- Intermittent lane closures and additional median closures between Tiger Park Lane and Bayshore Road Sunday, Sept. 24, through Friday, Sept. 29, from 9 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. for stormwater drainage improvements and paving operations.
- U.S. 90 Bridge Replacement over Simpson River – The outside (right) lane of U.S. 90 eastbound on the Simpson River Bridge will be closed Tuesday, Sept. 26 through Thursday, Sept. 28 from 8 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. as crews receive delivery of construction materials. Drivers are reminded that the speed limit is 35 mph throughout the work zone.
All activities are weather dependent and may be delayed or rescheduled in the event of inclement weather