Two Arrested, One Still Wanted For Ladarius Clardy Murder
October 1, 2021
Two people have been arrested and a second person is wanted for the murder of football standout Ladarius Clardy, and Sheriff Chip Simmons says he was not the intended target.
Amos Dehontiguan Snowden Jr. and his brother Da’Quavion Snowden, Jr. are both charged with first degree principal to murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Authorities are still searching for Kobie Lashun Jenkins, Jr. on charges including first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
“I will tell you that it appears they thought they were attacking, cowardly attacking, someone else,” Simmons said. The sheriff said it is very likely that there will be more arrests in the case at the investigation continues.
“This was an intentional attack, an intentional attempt to kill,” he said. “The only way I can truly describe them is that they are killers…the motive is they through they were shooting someone else. It’s as simple as that.”
Clardy, a former standout Pine Forest High School quarterback, was shot and found dead in a vehicle crash. His vehicle was found with over 50 bullet holes in a ravine at Hollywood Avenue and Fairfield Drive about 1 a.m. on July 1.
Anyone with information on Jenkins’ whereabouts is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620, Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP, or 911.
The arrests were announce during an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office press conference Thursday night.
Century Losing Interim Town Manager Vernon Prather
October 1, 2021
Interim Town Manager Vernon Prather has notified Century that he is leaving when his contract ends December 1.
“I will not be requesting a renewal or extension to the contract, as I have decided to fully retire,” Prather wrote in an email to the council and mayor. “It has been a privilege to serve with the Mayor and Council, these last two (2) years, and I wish continued success for the Town.”
Prather is paid $40 an hour for 30 hours per week, or $1,200 per week ($62,400 yearly). He has complete control over his work schedule and hours worked. If he exceeds 30 hours per week, he is not be paid overtime but is allowed to take comp time off at his discretion. He also receives a $600 per month vehicle allowance, but does not receive employee benefits such as vacation, retirement or insurance.
When his contract was extended for a year in December 2020, the council did so with the stipulation that they review his performance at least every quarter. With three quarters already passed this year, the council has not held a single review.
Prather began working for the town on a consulting basis as part of a $35 an hour package deal when Buz Eddy came on board in July 2019 following a scathing grand jury report on previous town operations.
Prather served Gulf Breeze in various positions from 2006 to 2017, including director of public services, operations consultant and assistant city manager, while Eddy retired as Gulf Breeze city manager in 2017 after 25 years on the job. Prather holds wastewater and water certifications in addition his on the job experience.
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Second In A Week: New North Escambia Dollar General Opens; Two More Planned
October 1, 2021
For the second time in a week, a new Dollar General has opened in North Escambia, and there are still two more in the works.
A new 9,291 square foot Dollar General in the 7000 block of North Century Boulevard in Century is now open.
Last weekend, a new Dollar General opened at the corner of Highway 297A and West Kingsfield Road in Cantonment. Escambia County granted a conditional use to allow the 8,960 square foot store in an area that is zoned for low density mixed-use up 6,000 square feet. A conditional use in the zoning category allows for retail sales up to 35,000 square feet. The Escambia County Board of Adjustment approved the conditional use with the stipulation that the store have a residential area design with wood siding and a shingled roof. [Click or tap to see the store.]
Dollar General’s development company has development applications for two more North Escambia stores in the works. One is on 1.89 acres on the west side of Highway 29 between Ten Mile Road and Roberts Road, just north of Kingline Equipment.
The second is in Walnut Hill at 7100 Highway 97, on the north side of the intersection of South Highway 99. There are currently two residential structures on the 5.3 acre property, which is across the road from a former farm supply retail business.
Pictured: A new Dollar General is now open in the 7000 block of North Century Boulevard in Century. Here, the store is shown late Thursday afternoon. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Slight Chance Of Rain Friday And Saturday, Higher Chance By Sunday
October 1, 2021
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Friday: A 20 percent chance of afternoon showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 86. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.
Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 67. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Saturday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 85. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south in the afternoon.
Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 68. East wind around 5 mph.
Sunday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 84. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south in the afternoon.
Sunday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 68. South wind around 5 mph.
Monday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 83. South wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Monday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. South wind around 5 mph becoming north after midnight.
Tuesday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 81. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Tuesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 63.
Wednesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 80.
Wednesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 61.
Thursday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 80.
UWF State Of The University Address: Saunders Reflects On Navigating Pandemic, Looks To New Horizon
October 1, 2021
University of West Florida President Martha D. Saunders reflected on the adaptation and accomplishments of Argonauts amid a global pandemic during her 2021 State of the University address Thursday. Saunders addressed students, faculty and staff in the UWF Center for Fine and Performing Arts Mainstage Theatre.
“The combined impacts of Hurricane Sally, the broken bridge, a challenging legislative session, and the Delta variant blew us off course a time or two,” Saunders said. “But true to form, the Argonauts adapted and showed the resilient spirit for which we are known.”
Saunders said although UWF faced many obstacles, the University still had several treasures including record enrollment and recognition through metrics, rankings, grants and awards.
Highlights of the last year included the University receiving the 2021 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity, or HEED, award for the sixth time. Saunders also pointed out that for the ninth time, UWF was named a Great Colleges to Work For. UWF ranked among the best public regional universities in the South for the second consecutive year in the 2022 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges list. The University of West Florida was No. 1 in the Florida State University System for Metric 1 of the Florida Board of Governors’ 2020-21 performance-based funding model. More than 79% of UWF bachelor’s graduates are employed or furthering their education one year after graduation. The University was also once again named a gold-level military friendly school.
Despite the pandemic challenges, the University stayed true to its mission, providing high-quality education, research and community engagement. Saunders looked ahead to new horizons and plans including master planning, strategic planning, enrollment planning, and diversity planning.
“Having experienced a major disruption last year, we have a great opportunity to reconsider the ways in which we conduct our business,” Saunders said. “Storms have a way of clearing new paths and this will help shape us for years to come.”
Three Injured In Three Vehicle Crash On Highway 29 At Highway 196
September 30, 2021
Three people were injured in a three vehicle crash Thursday night at the intersection of Highway 29 and Highway 196 near Molino.
None of the injuries were considered to be life threatening; the victims were transported to area hospitals by Escambia County EMS.
The 7 p.m. crash shut down Highway 29 northbound north of Highway 196. The roadway was still closed at 8:15 p.m. with traffic detoured onto Highway 196 eastbound.
The Florida Highway is investigating. The Molino Station of Escambia Fire Rescue responded.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Escambia Legislative Delegation Wants Answers From ECUA After State Findings
September 30, 2021
The local legislative delegation has asked the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority to respond to state findings after a review of the utility’s operations.
Created by the Florida Legislature in 1981, ECUA operates as a special district outside the jurisdiction of the Florida Public Service Commission that regulates most utilities in the state. The Florida Office of Public Counsel, which advocates on behalf of Florida’s utility consumers, conducted a review of ECUA operations.
The Public Counsel report identified three areas related to ECUA’s accounting of expenditures, its replacement rate of equipment and its methods for setting rates for residential and commercial customers. In a letter to the ECUA board, Sen. Doug Broxson, Rep. Alex Andrade and Rep. Michelle Salzman requested a response to the report by November 30.
“No utility is perfect, and a utility like ECUA, which has experienced serious upheaval in its executive offices in recent years, certainly isn’t expected to be perfect. That being said, the findings from the Public Counsel were serious enough to merit a response from ECUA. I’m confident ECUA will address the findings with a focus on providing the best, most reliable value and service to customers in my district that they can,” said Andrade, whose office sent the letter.
The Office of Public Counsel compared ECUA rates to those of Peoples Water Service Company in southwest Escambia County and found disparity.
“This office compared the water rates for a typical (3,000 gallon per month) ECUA residential customer (ignoring taxes and other fees) with the same consumption for a Peoples Water Service Company (“Peoples”), a Class A utility serving over 13,000 customers in areas of southwest Escambia County,” the report stated. “We observed that, at this level of consumption, the ECUA (mainland) customer bills are 56% higher than those of the FPSC-regulated Peoples.
“It must be pointed out, however, that due to the conservation rate structure the FPSC imposed on Peoples (which requires increasingly more expensive gallonage charges as household usage increases), at 10,000 gallons monthly usage, the ECUA bill is 15% lower than the comparable Peoples’ bill. The point here is that it is not clear that the full FPSC regulation would necessarily result in lower rates for ECUA customers.”
In their letter to ECUA, the legislative delegation “requests the ECUA review the possibility of implementing a conservation rate structure, or a response from the ECUA explaining why a conservation rate structure would be unfeasible or inadvisable for the ECUA.”
The review identified that the ECUA cycles out its water meters at a higher rate than similarly situated utilities, well before the water meters have reached their anticipated serviceable life span. The review notes that the reason given is that the ECUA desires all of its meters to operate under warranty. While the ECUA is not subject to review by the PSC, he Public Counsel stated that similar activity would not be deemed “reasonable or prudent” in a PSC rate setting process. The recurring annual cost for meter replacement is shown to be $2 million.
The review also raised the question of whether the ECUA is following generally accepted accounting principles in addition to its own reporting standards when coding expenses in its financial reports.
“I am concerned about some of the findings, but look forward to seeing ECUA’s response addressing these concerns,” Salzman said.
“As most of us know, ECUA has faced some challenges and concerns from the public in previous years. We continue to seek third party input and work with ECUA on how they can better function as a public trust,” Broxson said.
ECSO Gun Crimes Unit: 42 Arrests, 57 Firearms Seized This Year
September 30, 2021
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is highlighting the successes of their enhanced Gun Crimes Unit.
Through September, the ECSO Gun Crimes Unit has arrested 42 suspects on charges including possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, felony weapons charges, felony drug charges and felony traffic charges. The unit has seized 57 firearms, nine of which were stolen, from those arrested.
“Each one of these seized guns could result in the loss of life. I’m proud of the unit for its effectiveness in such a dangerous endeavor,” Sheriff Chip Simmons said.
Simmons said he created the current unit to not only arrest suspects breaking felony gun crime laws, but also to take stolen guns off the streets and out of the hands of criminals.
ECUA Hopes To Complete Recycling Facility Fire Repairs Soon
September 30, 2021
The Emerald Coast Utilities Authority says they expect to return to recycling soon as there fire damaged facility comes back online.
“We are making excellent progress with repairs and are getting close to resuming operations,” ECUA Public Information Officer Nathalie Bowers said.
The ECUA Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) was damaged in a July 15 fire, putting a hold on the recycling program.
Bowers said ECUA projects to reopen the facility during the first half of October. They will begin with a “soft start”, clearing out some of the stockpiled recyclables and make sure everything is in working order.
The electrical contractor has completed their work. ECUA expects to complete the installation of a plastics sorting robot by the end of the week. A magnet used in the metal sorting area is on backorder until December, but the metals will be manually sorted until then.
ECUA is continuing to urge customers to stay in the recycling habit as repairs continue. The recyclables are being collected as normal, but they are being landfilled for now.
Pictured above and below: Inside the ECUA Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) at the Perdido Landfill as cleanup was beginning. Pictured bottom: Smoke pours from the MRF on Thursday, July 15. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview Announces Homecoming Court
September 30, 2021
Northview High School has named their 2021 homecoming court.
Court members are (front, L-R) seniors Grayson James, Nevaeh Brown, Kaitlin Gafford, Kayla Dixon, Anna Adams; (back, L-R) juniors McKenna Simmons, Emma Gilmore, Jessica Stabler; sophomores Ty’Deasia McKenzie, Ava Gurganus, Carsyn Dortch; and freshmen Maddie Mae Driskell, Lacey Sapp, and Payton Daw. (They are dressed for homecoming’s Wild West Wednesday.)
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.