ECUA Repairs Pipe After Several Million Gallons Of Sewage Leaks; Health Advisory Remains in Effect
May 15, 2021
The Emerald Coast Utilities Authority said Friday night that repairs had been completed to a pipe after several million gallons of sewage leaked, but a health advisor remained in effect.
A 30-inch diameter pipe at the Emerald Coast Utility Authority Bayou Marcus Water Reclamation Facility ruptured Thursday night. Some 20 hours later, the pipe had been replaced and was back in service. About 7:45 p.m. Friday, ECUA said the overflow had ceased and the plant had resume normal operation.
Friday afternoon, the Florida Department of Health issued a health advisory for Perdido Bay south of the Bayou Marcus Creek. The health department advised any water-related activities due to the potential for high bacteria levels.”
The ruptured line runs between the beginning of the plant process and the biological treatment basins.
“Sewage at this point in the process has undergone primary screening and de-gritting. ECUA personnel responded immediately and worked through the night to take the line out of service and redirect the flow,” ECUA spokesperson Nathalie Bowers said. “The full scope of the repair work and the volume of the overflow are still being determined, but the damaged pipe is already being exposed and evaluated.”
The pipe is below the water table, which complicated the repair process, Bowers said.
The facility is located west of the North Blue Angel Parkway and Muldoon Road intersection (maps below).
DeSantis Appoints Three To Northwest Florida Water Management District
May 15, 2021
Gov. Ron DeSantis has appointed Jerome “Jerry” Pate of Pensacola, Anna Upton of Tallahassee and John Alter of Malone to the Northwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board.
The appointments are subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.
Jerome “Jerry” Pate
Pate is the owner of Jerry Pate Turf and Irrigation and Jerry Pate Design. He is a former professional golfer with 15 professional wins including the 1976 U.S. Open and the 1982 Players Championship. He was also a member of the winning 1981 United States Ryder Cup Team. Pate currently serves as Vice Chair of the Northwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board and on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Foundation Board of Directors. He earned his bachelor’s degree in administrative science from the University of Alabama.
Anna Upton
Upton is a Managing Member of Anna H. Upton, P.L. and serves as General Counsel to The Everglades Foundation. She has been named a Super Lawyers Rising Star in the areas of business litigation, civil litigation defense, employment and labor law and environmental litigation. A recipient of the Girl Scout Gold Award, she earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from Wake Forest University and her juris doctor from Stetson University College of Law.
John Alter
Alter manages a family-run tree farm and is a retired Naval Aviator, earning an honorable discharge from the United States Navy at the rank of Captain. He has previously served on the Northwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board and is also a member of the Florida Forestry Association, Jackson County Chamber of Commerce and the Optimist Club of Northeast Jackson County. Alter earned his bachelor’s degree from Ohio University and his master’s degree in political science from Villanova University.
Wahoos Beat Birmingham
May 15, 2021
As a later-round draft pick from Illinois State in 2019, pitcher Jeff Lindgren knew he had to prove himself quickly.
A performance like the one he delivered Friday night for the Blue Wahoos certainly helps.
Making his first professional start, Lindgren, 24, a Champagne, Illinois native, produced the longest outing by a Blue Wahoos starter, so far this season, tossing a 2-hitter in seven innings to lead Pensacola’s 3-2 win against the Birmingham Barons.
Lindgren did this in front of the first sellout crowd (5,038) of the opening homestand.
“It’s always playing with a chip on your shoulder,” said Lindgren, chosen in the 24th round by the Miami Marlins as a college senior and signed for a few thousand dollars. “When you have that kind of motivation it helps get to where you want to be in my situation right now.”
On the first night since a mask ban was lifted for fans at Blue Wahoos Stadium, Lindgren got through a rough first inning then found a groove that let him breeze through innings.
He threw 86 pitches, striking out seven and not allowing a walk. He worked five innings and allowed four runs in his first Double-A start a week ago at Mississippi.
“I just continued to follow the game plan that (pitching coach Tim Norton) and (catcher Rick Fortes) put together before the game,” said Lindgren, who made all his prior appearances in relief, including his 2019 rookie season in Jupiter. “It really was working for me in the first game and things just got away from me. I settled back in and ran (Friday).”
When he exited after the seventh, he saw many in the crowd standing.
“It was awesome,” Lindgren said. “Especially after taking so much time off (not playing last year). I didn’t really realize the crowd until the end but my team had my back all day.”
Lindgren got the run support he needed when Demetrius Sims jumped on a first pitch to deliver a 2-run, 2-out single in the sixth inning.
That lead was saved by Anthony Maldonado, who pitched two scoreless, hitless innings. to record his third save.
Lindgren overcame a rocky opening inning. He plunked consecutive batters with one out, then yielded a bloop, 2-run single to Barons’ catcher Carlos Perez.
From this point, Lindgren was sensational.
He retired 16 batters in a row, before Ti’Quan Forbes reached on a two-base throwing error in the seventh inning to move into scoring position. But Lindgren ended the inning by getting Craig Dedlow to fly out to left on the first pitch.
Birmingham starter Konnor Pilkington was equally effective. After the Blue Wahoos got a run back in the first inning on Fortes’ 2-out single, Pilkington retired the next 12 batters he faced.
Nick Lovullo broke the string with a one-out single. It was one of just four hits the Blue Wahoos had in the game. But they made the most of them.
The Blue Wahoos (6-4) evened the series at 2-2 heading into Saturday’s fifth game against the Barons (7-3).
FWC: Wild Hog Hunting Opportunities Await On Wildlife Management Areas
May 15, 2021
During spring and summer, the FWC offers public hunting opportunities for wild hog at 26 wildlife management areas across the state.
A hunting license isn’t needed to hunt wild hogs at a WMA, however, a management area permit is required. And many do not have a quote permit for spring and summer while hog hunting
For information on WMA wild hog hunting opportunities — including at the Escambia River, and Blackwater WMAs, click or tap here.
Plane Makes Hard Belly Landing At Atmore Airport
May 14, 2021
A single engine plane made a hard belly-landing at the Atmore Municipal Airport Friday afternoon.
The plane slid some 200 feet after a landing gear failure at the Atmore Municipal Airport, according to officials. The pilot walked away from the incident without injuries.
The Atmore Fire Department responded to a reported plane crash at the airport about 4:40 p.m. They reported the pilot was not injured, and there were no fuel leaks or fire.
According to FAA records, the plane is a 1968 Beechcraft Bonanza V35A owned by a Bay Minette man.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Former Tate High Homecoming Queen Pleads Not Guilty In Vote Scandal
May 14, 2021
A former Tate High School homecoming queen has entered a not guilty plea to the charges against her.
Emily Rose Grover, 18, was scheduled to appear in court Friday. She waived her appearance and instead entered a written plea of not guilty through her attorney Randall Etheridge.
Grover was 17-year old juvenile at the time of her arrest in April by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. She turned 18 just a few days later, and is now being tried as an adult.
Grover and her mother Laura Carroll, former assistant principal at Bellview Elementary School, were charged by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement with one count each of felony offenses against users of computers, computer systems, computer networks, and electronic devices; felony unlawful use of a two-way communications device, felony criminal use of personally identifiable information, and conspiracy to commit these offenses. The misdemeanor conspiracy charge against both has been upgraded by prosecutors to a felony count.
Carroll previously pleaded not guilty remains free on a $6,000 bond. Grover is free on a $2,000 bond.
Both are accused of illegally accessing the Escambia County School District FOCUS computer system and casting 246 votes for Tate homecoming queen in the fall of 2020. Grover won, but she was expelled and has been stripped of the crown.
Escambia County Man Facing 93 Felony Fraud Counts For Contracting Without License In Building Five Homes
May 14, 2021
An Escambia County man is facing 93 felony charges after allegedly engaging in a systematic course of conduct with the intent to defraud multiple people in conjunction with the construction of five houses.
Carl Zarlmane Likely, Sr., was charged with 92 separate third degree felony counts of fraud for false identifying as a contractor, one count of third degree felony fraud obtaining property valued at more than $50,000, and one second degree felony count of dealing in stolen property.
According to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, Likely engaged in a systematic course of conduct with the intent to defraud multiple people.
He would obtain building supplies purchased with a fraudulent credit card and then use those supplies in the construction of a duplex and four other new builds in Escambia County, according to an arrest report. The supplies were purchased at building supply retailers in Escambia and surrounding counties.
Likely would pull Escambia County permits unders the license of another contactor, the report states. That contractor had listed Likely on their letter of authorization with Escambia County Building Inspections for the purpose of building a duplex on his own property, but the contractor said he was unaware that Likely was pulling additional permits, the report continues.
Investigators obtained a notarized contractor’s final payment affidavit on which Likely identifies himself as the owner of the contracting company. Notices of commencement and building permit applications were completed and signed by Likely identifying him as owner of the building company, according to the report.
Two of the five homes are currently for sale for $185,000 each, and one for $199,000.
Likely is also accused of using a fraudulent Green Dot card to purchase nearly $10,000 in shingles.
Likely was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $234,000 bond.
Owner Of Pharmacies In Pensacola And Jay Sentenced In $4.8 Million Federal Fraud Case
May 14, 2021
The owner of a former Escambia County compounding pharmacy that later purchased and involved Jay Pharmacy in the scheme has been sentenced to federal prison in a $4.8 million federal fraud and money laundering conspiracy case.
Andrew E. Fisher, 35, of Gulf Breeze, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison after a jury found him guilty last year of conspiring to use his pharmacy to defraud TRICARE, a federal health care program for uniformed service members, retirees, and their families, and conspiring to launder the funds generated by the fraud. Fisher was also ordered to pay over $4.8 million in restitution to TRICARE and forfeit an over $3.8 million money judgment sentence was announced today by Jason R. Coody, acting United States attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
Between October 2014 and December 2015, Fisher, the owner and operator of Physician Specialty Pharmacy (PSP) in Pensacola, conspired with sales representative Michael Scott Burton and others to defraud TRICARE out of more than $4.8 million in fraudulent claims for prescription compounded pain cream, scar cream, and wellness vitamins.
During the conspiracy, Fisher also purchased Jay Pharmacy in Jay, and used its existing insurance contracts with TRICARE and others to bill for fraudulent PSP prescriptions. NorthEscambia.com was there when the Jay Pharmacy was raided in February 2016.
Fisher agreed to fill prescriptions at PSP from a doctor’s office in Georgia whose beneficiary information was provided by Burton and individuals working for him, knowing that these particular beneficiaries had never seen that doctor and the prescriptions were not based on a legitimate doctor-patient relationship. In exchange for recruiting TRICARE beneficiaries to receive the prescriptions, Burton received approximately 50% of the amount paid to Fisher in insurance reimbursements. Those commission payments were laundered in the form of large wire transfers and direct deposits into Burton’s bank account in Georgia.
As part of the scheme, Fisher, who is not a licensed pharmacist, directed his pharmacist employees to use ingredient formulations for the drugs that would maximize the amount his pharmacy could bill to TRICARE — which was upward of $10,000 to $17,000 per medication at the time — and other insurance companies without considering what was best for patient care. Fisher also directed Burton and his employees to tell beneficiaries not to worry about co-payments, in order to ensure that the beneficiaries would not decline receiving the medications over out-of-pocket cost. Because PSP was not a TRICARE network pharmacy, Fisher paid Burklow Pharmacy in Pace a commission
of approximately 15% to allow PSP to bill TRICARE using Burklow’s network provider contract for prescriptions received, filled, and shipped at PSP, including ones Fisher knew were fraudulent.
Assistant United States Attorney Alicia H. Forbes prosecuted the case following a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Florida Department of Financial Services-Bureau of Insurance Fraud, Florida Department of Health, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and Army Criminal Investigative Command.
Pictured: State and federal agencies raided the Jay Pharmacy in February 2016. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Woman Charged In Cantonment Shooting Death Appears In Video Court
May 14, 2021
A woman charged in the murder of her daughter’s boyfriend appeared in video court Thursday.
Prosecutors said Dawn Lucille Sluder conspired to have 35-year old Danny Blackmon, Jr. killed.
It was set to be a bond hearing before Judge Jan Shackelford, but Sluder’s attorney and prosecutors agreed to postpone the hearing. A new date has not been set.
Sluder and her co-defendant Jonathan Taylor Hobbs remain in jail without bond.
Hobbs was indicted on one count of first degree premeditated murder with a firearm, and Sluder was indicted on one count of first degree premeditated murder.
Danny Blackmon, Jr., 35, was shot and killed as his 19-year old girlfriend, who is Sluder’s daughter, watched in horror, according to Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons.
On February 1, investigators found Blackmon deceased with numerous gunshot wounds, including two on his upper torso, one in his neck and at least two in his head. After Blackmon fell to the ground, Hobbs reportedly leaned over his body and fired at least two more rounds before running away. Blackmon’s girlfriend witnessed the entire incident and attempted to perform CPR until she beaten and pulled away by her hair by Dawn Sluder, an arrest report states.
Sluder was apprehended at a convenience store on Muscogee Road near Jacks Branch Road. There was extensive damage to her SUV (pictured below) consistent with having collided with the Ford F-150 as stated by the witness. Hobbs walked up to a resident on Country Hills Road and asked to use the phone. The resident called 911, and deputies responded to take Hobbs into custody without further incident.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
The Big Fill: Krul Lake Is Now Filling Up
May 14, 2021
Here’s another update on the big refill of Krul Lake in the Blackwater State Forest.
After repairs to the drain pipe system and retaining wall, as well as upgrades and basic maintenance, Florida Forest Service personnel have closed the spillway at Krul Recreation Area and the lake is beginning to refill.
Officials say it will take 7-10 days to fill the lake, but recent rains may have expedited the process.
Krul Lake is filled from springs located on the north end of the lake and is popular summer swimming area. The Krul Recreation area, located about a half mile east of Munson, also features restrooms and showers, hiking trails, a gristmill, a suspension bridge over Sweetwater Creek, and a picnic area.
Pictured above and below show the lake refilling. The very bottom photo shows the empty lake. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
