The Honeybee Highway: Molino Park Student Places Second In National Poetry Contest
October 1, 2020
A Molino Park Elementary School student has won second place in a nationwide poetry contest.
Jordyn Gibbs’ poem “The Honeybee Highway” took second place in the grade 3-5 division of an annual poetry contest for students across America hosted by The America Library of Poetry.
Her poem is reprinted below.
he Honeybee Highway
by Jordyn Gibbs
In my backyard there stands a hive,
a big white box where honey bees thrive.
Busy bees toiling all day long
striving to bring the nectar home.
They pollinate fields, the flowers, and crops
Then carry the pollen back into the box.
The queen bee is happy and dances a jig
Soon honey will be flowing and the yield will be big
Tall jars of honey cut fresh from the combs
Waiting to be devoured by the people at home
Sweet, sweet honey to spread thick on a bun
Thank you, my bees, for the work you have done.
Navy Federal Donates $100K To United Way’s Hurricane Sally Relief Fund
October 1, 2020
Navy Federal Credit Union, Pensacola’s largest private sector employer, on Wednesday announced a $100,000 donation to support United Way of West Florida’s Hurricane Sally Relief Fund.
Escambia and Santa Rosa counties are home for 95 percent of our Greater Pensacola Operations team,” said Keith Hoskins, senior vice president for Navy Federal Credit Union. “The damage caused by Hurricane Sally has made an impact on them as well as our entire community. We have already seen our employees step up to help each other and clean up debris for our friends and neighbors. It’s an honor to continue to provide help in the efforts to rebuild and recover together.”
Donations made to United Way of West Florida’s Hurricane Sally Relief Fund will be used to provide assistance to those impacted by the storm, particularly those community members who do not have insurance or who are underinsured.
“Navy Federal Credit Union has stepped up during these extraordinarily challenging times to provide critical support to a community that is reeling from Hurricane Sally,” said Laura Gilliam, president and CEO of United Way of West Florida. “Their donation of $100,000 to the Hurricane Sally Relief Fund will help our community get back on its feet.”
The credit union has approximately 152,000 members in the area impacted by Hurricane Sally.
“The Pensacola area is where our employees and members are choosing to raise their families, serve our nation and build businesses,” said Hoskins. “We are part of a resilient and caring community. I know we’ll come back better and stronger, together.”
Pictured (L-R) Laura Gilliam, president and CEO United Way of West Florida; Kara Cardona, senior vice president Greater Pensacola Operations Navy Federal Credit Union; Keith Hoskins, senior vice president Greater Pensacola Navy Federal Credit Union. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
FDLE Arrests Pace Man On 27 Child Porn Counts
September 30, 2020
The FDLE enforcement has charged a Pace man with over two dozen child pornography counts.
Agents with FDLE, along with Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, arrested 56-year old Jeffery Carl Swenson of 5765 Quintette Road on 27 counts of obscene material possession depicting child sexual conduct.
The investigation began after an agent identified images and videos of child pornography being downloaded and shared from a computer at Swenson’s residence. The images and videos depicted female children under the age of 10, according to FDLE.
Alabama Governor Extends Mask Mandate Until After November Election
September 30, 2020
Gov. Kay Ivey has extended Alabama’s mask mandate until after the November election.
Facial covering will be required in public places within Alabama until 5 p.m. on November 8, Ivey announced during a press conference Wednesday. Alabama’s mask order has been in effect since July 16, and it was previously set to expire on Friday.
Ivey said Alabama’s COVID-19 numbers have continued to decline since the mask order, and she mentioned the national election as one reason for extending the order.
“I want everyone to (vote) and to be able to do it safely,” she said.
Ivey also loosened the restrictions on nursing home and other long-term care facilities. Beginning October 2, each patient or resident can have one caregiver or visitor at a time.
Hurricane Sally Damages In Escambia County Approach One-Third Of A Billion Dollars
September 30, 2020
The tally of Hurricane Sally damages in Escambia County is continuing to climb, now closing in on one-third of a billion dollars.
Total damages stoodd at $309 million as of Tuesday, and that number is expected to climb.
Escambia County and the City of Pensacola are estimating $126 million in damage to private property from Hurricane Sally. Damage estimates in Escambia County are approximately $111 million and damage estimates in the City of Pensacola are $15.69 million.
In the county and city, 44 buildings were destroyed, 629 have major damage, 915 have minor damage and 168 have been affected. To date, a total of 1,756 structures were damaged throughout the county.
To date, FEMA has not awarded individual assistance for Escambia County. Without it, individuals will not receive any financial help for uninsured losses or expenses.
The latest estimate so far is $182.6 million to Escambia County, Escambia County School District, Emerald coast Utilities Authority and City of Pensacola property. FEMA has issued a major disaster declaration that will allows the governmental agencies to see reimbursement for a large portion of their losses and recover expenses.
Pictured: Personal belongings and demolition debris outside a home in Bristol Park on Tuesday. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Century Man Charged With Forcing His Way Into Home, Stealing Cash
September 30, 2020
A Century man is facing charges after allegedly forcing his way into a local home and stealing a small amount of cash.
Tavares Antonio Odom, 32, was booked into the Escambia County Jail on charges of burglary with assault and battery and petit theft. He remained jailed Wednesday morning with bond set at $50,500.
Odom allegedly slammed open the front door of the victim’s home on East Pond Street, pushed her out of the way as he entered her bedroom, and took $45 that was on the bed.
The victim told deputies that “he was going to get some powder and tore up $25 as he was walking to the street”, an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report states. The victim said there were two other witnesses but they did not want to get involved by giving a statement to deputies.
Want To Vote November 3? Monday Is The Deadline To Register.
September 30, 2020
Monday is the last day to register to vote in the November 3 general election.
The Escambia County Supervisor of Elections will hold extended office hours on Monday from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m.
Florida law mandates that registration books close 29 days before an election. New registrations must be completed and received or postmarked no later than October 5 for them to be effective for the November 3 election. Address changes can be made after the books close. If you are unsure of your registration status, visit EscambiaVotes.gov and click Am I Registered? to check.
Cox Says They’re Still Working On Heavily Damaged Areas, 97% Restored
September 30, 2020
Cox Communications had restored service to 97% of customers that were impacted by Hurricane Sally as of Tuesday, and they expect to complete major network repairs by October 2.
Restoration crews have identified over 46 miles of damage to the network and are continuing to complete repairs. In more severely damaged areas, Cox network crews and our partners continue to make great progress getting those areas up and running. Crews are also continuing to repair down lines at customer’s homes this week.
The company previously identified Cantonment, Myrtle Grove and along Lillian Highway as among the hardest hit.
“First, we’d like to thank our customers for their patience while we continue to make great progress in the restoration of our network,” said David Deliman, vice president of Cox’s Gulf Coast market. “Our crews continue to work extremely hard to reconnect the Gulf Coast. We estimate that all our major network repairs will be complete no later than Friday, October 2. While the network repairs will be complete by that day, individual customer damage to their home could take longer to fix. We will not rest until all customers are connected to the services they enjoy.”
To achieve this timeline, Cox has brought in additional teams from across the country to assist with our ongoing repairs and service calls at customer homes. These crews are in addition to the network restoration crews brought in immediately after the storm.
Customers should be receiving emails with updated service restoration information. If a customer has received notice that major repairs have been completed to their neighborhood and are still experiencing issues, they can:
- Reset their device by unplugging and plugging it back in.
- If resetting the equipment doesn’t get it back online, please chat with us at cox.com/coxapp or coxbusiness.com/cbapp for Cox Business.
- If service is not restored, please contact Cox at 877-556-7815 to schedule a service call.
- If a customer had a service call scheduled already, our team will be reaching out to them with earlier service appointments, when possible.
Also, intermittent service outages may occur as providers are working to replace temporary lines with permanent ones, remove trees, install permanent power poles and restore equipment to power from generators. This infrastructure could also be damaged by debris collection.
“We ask customers please take caution to place debris away from Cox equipment boxes and infrastructure,” said Anthony Pope, senior vice president and region manager of Cox Southeast. “Keeping those areas clear allows crews to better facilitate repairing and replacing cable lines. That will allow us to restore services to all customers quicker.”
Gonzalez Baptist Church Seeks Help Finding Stolen Utility Trailer
September 30, 2020
A local church is asking for the public’s help to locate their trailer which was stolen.
The 18-foot flatbed trailer with double axles and single tires was stolen from behind Gonzalez Baptist Church sometime just after Hurricane Sally. It is faded light green with a bumper pintle hitch. The trailer was also missing left side lights; if they are there now they were added and will appear new.
If you see the trailer, call Packy Mitchell at (850 982-8933 or the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620.
Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
State Fire Marshal Investigating Cause Of Century House Fire
September 30, 2020
The Florida State Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of a house fire Tuesday night in Century.
The fire in a single family dwelling in the 7000 block of Mayo Street was reported about 7:30 p.m. Escambia Fire Rescue units quickly extinguished the fire in the living room of the home, with no fire related injuries reported.
Most of the fire damage was reportedly contained to the living room and its contents.
The Century and McDavid stations of Escambia Fire Rescue, Flomaton Fire Department and Jay Fire Department were dispatched to the blaze, but some of the units were canceled prior to arrival. Escambia County EMS and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office also responded.