Resident: Burglar Kicks In Door Of Molino Home With Someone Inside
July 8, 2016
Molino residents say a burglar kicked in the back door of a home on Crabtree Church Road Thursday afternoon.
It happened around 2 p.m. Two people arrived at the home in a SUV that was champagne in color. One entered the home, while the other stayed with vehicle, which was backed up to the end of the driveway.
Residents say the burglar was scared away when he opened a bedroom door inside the home and woke a male that was sleeping.
Further information was not available.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Century Cancels Budget Workshop
July 8, 2016
Century’s first scheduled budget workshop of the year set for Thursday afternoon was canceled due to the lack of quorum.
Additional budget workshops are set for 4 p.m. each remaining Thursday in July and the first Thursday in August. In addition, the Century Town Council has regular meeting set for Monday at 7 p.m., rescheduled from the Fourth of July.
All meetings are open to the public and will be held in the council chamber at the Century Town Hall.
Escambia-Pensacola Human Relations Commission Seeks Members
July 8, 2016
The Escambia County Board of County Commissioners is seeking Escambia County residents interested in volunteering to be considered for an appointment to the Escambia-Pensacola Human Relations Commission. The EPHRC was established by an Interlocal Agreement between the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners and the City of Pensacola in April 1974. The purpose of the Commission is to be “responsible for the promotion of fair treatment and equal opportunity to all citizens of the local community.” Commission members, who are called Commissioners serve a two-year term of office.
Commissioners meet once a month for one hour. The Commission meetings are held to discuss the previous month’s day-to-day activities and to insure that the Interlocal Agreement between Escambia County, the City of Pensacola and the EPHRC are in compliance. Additional meetings may be held for special discussion, workshops, training sessions or community activities.
Escambia residents interested in serving on the Escambia-Pensacola Human Relations Commission are asked to submit a resume and letter indicating their desire to serve on the Commission by the close of business on Thursday, July 14, 2016. Resumes should be submitted to Judy Witterstaeter, Program Coordinator, Board of County Commissioners, P.O. Box 1591, Pensacola, Florida 32502.
Florida Supreme Court Takes Annual Break, Continues Mulling Hot Issues
July 8, 2016
The Florida Supreme Court moved quietly into an annual summer break Thursday.
Releasing its last regular batch of opinions until Aug. 25, the court did not drop any bombshells. That left unresolved questions about issues such as the constitutionality of the state’s death-penalty sentencing laws.
The Supreme Court moves at its own pace. Even with the summer break, it could dribble out opinions before Aug. 25 — a process known as “out of calendar” opinion releases. Regardless, justices go into the break facing a pile of high-profile cases.
Here are five examples of issues pending in the court:
— DEATH PENALTY: Justices have been inundated with arguments in recent months about Florida’s death-penalty sentencing system. The arguments are rooted in a January U.S. Supreme Court ruling that essentially said the state’s system was unconstitutional because it gave too much power to judges, instead of juries, in sentencing inmates to death.
The Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott scrambled to approve changes to address the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which came in a case known as Hurst v. Florida. But in cases involving numerous Death Row inmates, the Florida Supreme Court is trying to sort out questions such as whether the changes approved by the Legislature and Scott meet constitutional tests.
— SLOT MACHINES: The Florida Supreme Court heard arguments last month in a case that has major implications for the gambling industry and for communities in various parts of the state. The case centers on whether Gretna Racing, a pari-mutuel facility in rural Gadsden County, should be able to offer slot machines without the express approval of the Legislature.
The ultimate ruling likely will come down to how justices interpret a 2009 gambling law. Gretna Racing contends the law permits counties to hold referendums to allow slot machines — an argument Gov. Rick Scott’s administration and Attorney General Pam Bondi have disputed. The outcome will affect at least six counties where voters have approved slot machines in referendums. Those counties are Gadsden, Brevard, Hamilton, Lee, Palm Beach and Washington.
— ABORTION: More than a year after lawmakers and Scott approved a measure requiring women to wait 24 hours before having abortions, the Supreme Court in the coming months will decide whether the law is constitutional.
Justices have not heard arguments in the case but in April temporarily blocked the waiting-period requirement from taking effect. Lower courts have been divided on the constitutionality of the measure. A Leon County circuit judge last year issued a temporary injunction against the law, but a three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal in February overturned that decision.
— MEDICAL MALPRACTICE: In the latest chapter in a battle that goes back to the days of former Gov. Jeb Bush, the Supreme Court is weighing the constitutionality of limits on “non-economic” damages in medical-malpractice cases. Such limits were a centerpiece of a 2003 law, approved by Bush and the Legislature, that sought to lower malpractice-insurance costs.
The Supreme Court is weighing the constitutionality of the limits in a Broward County case involving a woman who went into surgery for carpal-tunnel syndrome and ended up with a perforated esophagus because of tubes inserted into her mouth and esophagus during the anesthesia process. Justices, who heard arguments last month, struck down damage caps in 2014 in a wrongful-death malpractice case involving a woman who died after giving birth in a Panhandle hospital. Details of the cases differ, however, including that Broward County lawsuit is a personal-injury case instead of a wrongful-death case.
GUNS: Amid a heated debate in Florida and across the country about gun laws, the Supreme Court is mulling the constitutionality of a state ban on people openly carrying firearms in public.
Florida allows residents to get licenses to carry concealed weapons, but it has long barred them from openly displaying guns. The Supreme Court last month heard a challenge to that restriction in a case that stems from the 2012 arrest of a man in Fort Pierce for openly carrying a gun in a holster. Gun-rights groups argue that the restriction violates the Second Amendment, but lower courts have upheld the law.
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
Atmore Police Investigate Business Burglaries
July 8, 2016
The Atmore Police Department is investigating two business burglaries discovered Thursday morning.
About 4:30 a.m., an officer patrolling North Main Street heard the burglar alarm going off at Earle’s Jewelers at 119 Main Street. The officer discovered damage to the front door of the building. Officers entered the building but did not find anyone inside. A short time later, the business owner arrived and verified that several jewelry items were missing.
About 9 a.m., the owner of Marty’s Furniture on Howard Street arrived at work to find that it had been burglarized. The owner told police that it appeared the suspect made entry into the building and damaged the alarm control panel. No furniture items were taken.
Atmore Police have not said if they believe the two burglaries to be related.
Wahoos Rally Falls Short
July 8, 2016
Pensacola Blue left fielder Phillip Ervin smacked a two-run homer in the ninth inning with no outs to pull Blue Wahoos within one run but fell short in its comeback attempt.
The Mobile BayBears held on for a, 4-3, victory Thursday over Pensacola at Hank Aaron Stadium.
The winning hit ended up being first baseman Rudy Flores two-out solo homer to right field off of Pensacola closer Carlos Gonzalez in the eighth inning that gave the BayBears a 4-1 lead.
Mobile jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning Thursday. It was the fourth game in a row that the BayBears scored first against Pensacola. In the five-game series, the BayBears led 5-0 Monday, 7-0 Tuesday and 3-0 Wednesday.
Pensacola, which scored 10 runs on 16 hits Wednesday, managed just four hits in Thursday’s game, two coming in the ninth on center fielder Jeff Gelalich’s single and Ervin’s home run.
Mobile third baseman Travis Denker walked to lead off the second inning and first baseman Rudy Flores singled to left field. Then Sal Romano struck out the next two batters. But with two outs, left fielder Chuck Taylor doubled to drive in both Denker and Flores for a 2-0 lead. BayBears pitcher Taylor Clarke then helped himself with a single to center field that scored Taylor to go up, 3-0.
Pensacola finally scored off of Mobile starter Taylor Clarke in the eighth inning to pull within, 3-1. Blue Wahoos third baseman Taylor Sparks scored on a wild pitch after striking out but reaching first when the third strike got past Mobile catcher Oscar Hernandez.
The BayBears righty, who was making his seventh start for Mobile, worked a season-high eight innings, giving up one run on two hits and struck out a season-high 10 batters. Clarke improved his record to 3-4 with a 3.80 earned-run average.
Mobile clinched the five-game series, going up 3-1. The BayBears also evened their second half record to 7-7 (39-45). Pensacola, which won the first half Southern League South Division title, fell to 5-9 (46-38) and last place in the South.
Meanwhile, Blue Wahoos starter Sal Romano pitched 6.1 innings, his longest outing since he pitched seven innings against the Birmingham Barons on May 26. He gave up three runs on six hits and one walk, while striking out seven. Romano fell to 1-10 with a 4.81 ERA on the season.
Teen Injured In Hwy 29, Barrineau Park Road Crash
July 7, 2016
One juvenile was injured and four other people uninjured in a two vehicle crash Thursday afternoon at the intersection of Highway 29 and Barrineau Park Road.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 93-year old Jess W. Milstid of Cantonment was northbound in the left turn lane of Highway 29 when he turned his 1999 Ford F150 into the path of a southbound Toyota Corolla driven by 15-year old Madelyn Lathan of Molino. Lathan, her front seat passenger 45-year old Amy Lathan, and 15-year old passenger Mallory Lanthan were not injured. A fourth passenger in the Corolla, 15-year old Morgan Lathan, was extricated by firefighters before being transported to Sacred Heart Hospital with minor injuries.
Milstid, who was not injured, was cited for turning left in front of approaching traffic.
The Molino and Cantonment Stations of Escambia Fire Rescue also responded to the crash.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Arrest Warrant Issued For Cantonment Hit And Run Driver, Vehicle Owner Arrested
July 7, 2016
UPDATED: This story was updated 8:30 a.m. on 7/8/2016 to reflect the arrest of the vehicle owner.
An arrest warrant is outstanding for a Cantonment man involved in a May 31 hit and run crash in Cantonment, and the vehicle’s owner has now been arrested.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 25-year old Colby Chase Myrick was traveling northbound on Wegner Avenue approaching Mintz Lane when he failed to stop at a yield sign and struck a Toyota Avalon driven by 71-year old Elizabeth Harris of Cantonment.
The Toyota left the roadway and struck a concrete table and landscaping at 302 Wegner Avenue, while Myrick fled fled the scene in the Dodge Ram northbound on Wegner Avenue. Harris and her six-year old passenger suffered minor injuries.
Over two weeks later, the Dodge Ram was located on Well Line Road and positively identified as the vehicle involved in the crash.
An arrest warrant has been issued for Myrick for leaving the scene of a crash with injuries, leaving the scene of a crash with property damage, driving while license revoked habitual, reckless driving with injuries, driving while license expired more than six months and tampering with evidence. He also faces a citation for failure to report a crash and failure to provide insurance in a crash.
The owner of the Dodge Ram, 32-year old Priscilla Kaye Plott, was arrested for permitting an unauthorized person to drive. She was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $5,000 bond.
Anyone with information on the thee whereabouts of Myrick is asked to call *FHP from a cell phone or Gulf Coast Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
The 1996 Dodge Ram driven by Myrick was identified by a piece of the front grill left behind at the crash scene with a chrome skull with two guns mounted to the front.
Pictured inset: Wanted suspect Colby Chase Myrick in a January 2016 mugshot. Vehicle photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Man Gets 15 Years For Tree Branch Beating
July 7, 2016
A Milton man has been sentenced to prison for beating another man with a tree branch in Escambia County.
Circuit Judge Jennie Kinsey sentenced Terrance Leroy McCrea to 15 years after a jury convicted him of aggravate battery with a deadly weapon.
On May 5, 2015, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to the Circle K on Pace Boulevard where they found a man on the ground covered in blood. McCrea was located at the scene with a four-foot tree branch and made incriminating statements to deputies.
Deputies spoke with a witness who observed McCrea attack the victim without provocation and strike him numerous times with the branch. EMS responded and transported the victim to the hospital where he remained for a week before being released.
ECUA’s Composting Program Wins National Award
July 7, 2016
The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) announces that Emerald Coast Utilities Authority (ECUA) has been named the winner of the 2016 SWANA Gold Excellence Award in the composting category.
ECUA is taking home the Gold trophy for its entry, “Emerald Coast Utilities Authority Biosolids Composting Facility.” The award will be presented during an August conference in Indiana.
“ECUA is utilizing yard trash and biosolids to create an environmentally beneficial compost. This eliminates the need to landfill yard trash and biosolids and provides a valuable compost resource to residents and businesses in the ECUA service area,” said Randy Rudd, ECUA deputy executive director.
ECUA began offering garbage and yard waste sanitation collection in Escambia County in 1992. Curbside recycling service was introduced in January 2009, and in 2015, the Biosolids Composting Facility (BCF) opened. The BCF composts weekly about 400 tons of biosolids (about half of ECUA’s biosolids) and 500 tons of yard waste and will produce approximately 15,000 tons of finished compost annually. Plans are underway to double its capacity. ECUA is using the Modified Static Aerobic Pile method.
Emerald Coast bloom, “The Most in Bio-Compost,” is certified under the US Composting Council’s Seal of Testing Assurance program, a nationally recognized compost testing program.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
