Author With Local Ties Signs Copies Of ‘The Know It All Kitty’
November 30, 2008
Children’s book author and storyteller Kathy Jernigan signed copies of her book The Know It All Kitty and the Peanut Butter Factory in Century Saturday.
Jernigan is a storyteller and songwriter that grew up in Brewton and spent a lot of time with her grandparents O.P. and Eula Mae Renfroe. Her mom, Adelaide (Renfroe) Jernigan, was raised in Century.
Jernigan, who now lives in Century, signed books at the Country Bumpkin and at the Alger-Sullivan Historical Society’s Boxcar Barbecue.
She said the book promotes sharing, courage and fun. She wrote the story to entertain her nieces and nephews when they were two and three years old.
In the book, the kitty really does know everything, it’s just the Know It All Kitty needs a lot of help along the way to live up to his name. He wants to share peanut butter goodies with his friends, so he musters his courage to do the one thing he hates to do… go underwater. He has to face his fears once again as he discovers a lake wizard in an underwater cave, and a hidden peanut butter factory. He sets off the alarm in the factory and it scares him silly, but he makes it out with a sack full of goodies for his friends.
Autographed copies of the book are available for sale at the Country Bumpkin on North Century Boulevard. It is also available for order from Amazon.com and Trafford.com (click either site name for order information).
Pictured above: Author Kathy Jernigan of Atlanta signs copies of her book The Know It All Kitty and the Peanut Butter Factory at the Country Bumpkin in Century on Saturday. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Crossroads In Concert Tonight At Highland Baptist
November 30, 2008
The quarterly Fifth Sunday Singing will feature Crossroads this afternoon at Highland Baptist Church in Molino.
Crossroads is Kristen Sorrells, Lyndi Hardy and Brad Adkinson. They have been together just over a year, and they were quickly singing at churches across Santa Rosa County and a few churches in Alabama and Escambia County, Florida.
They have performed at the 100th Anniversary of the Southern Baptist Association, Relay for Life in Mobile and at a recent company celebration at Solutia.
Brad is a member of First Baptist Church in Milton. He and his wife Mindy have two children. Lyndi and her husband Robbie are members at Pine Terrace Baptist Church in Milton. Lyndi is also a teacher at Milton High School. Kristen and her husband Phillipp are members at Pine Terrace Baptist Church. They have three children, and she is a stay at home mom.
The singing at Highland Baptist begins at 4:30 this afternoon and will followed by a covered dish meal. Highland is located on Highway 95A, just south of Molino Road.
Longtime Ernest Ward High School Coach Inducted Into Hall Of Fame
November 29, 2008
A former longtime North Escambia coach was recently inducted into the Atmore Area Hall of Fame.
Better known as Coach Latham, Joe Latham dedicated his life to sports, making his mark in in his 27 years at Ernest Ward High School. He coached basketball, tennis, baseball and football.
Coach Latham graduated from high school in Maplesville, Ala. in 1939. After serving in World War II, he graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1948. He was picked up by the Los Angeles Rams, then went to Detroit as a single-wing fullback before beginning his coaching career.
Coach Latham coached all sports but his favorites were football and baseball. He coached at Walnut Hill, Pass Christian, Miss.; Franklinton, La.; Orville, Ala.; and Wildwood, Fla. He dedicated 36 years of service to young people – 27 years at Walnut Hill. Coach Latham returned to Walnut Hill in 1960 after coaching in south Florida for two years.
He received a number of honors during his career.
He was named Coach of the Year for the Escambia River Conference in 1961, 1964, 1965, and 1971.
In 1965, Coach Latham was inducted into the University of Southern Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, having played fullback there in the 1940s. He was assistant coach for the North All-Star Football Team in 1965.
He was inducted into the Hall of Fame at his alma mater in Maplesville, Ala.
To honor Coach Latham for his dedication, the Ernest Ward High School stadium was named for him in the 1980’s.
Article and photos courtesy Atmore News.
Pictured top: Coach Joe Latham. Pictured below: Members of the Latham family on hand for the Hall of Fame ceremony were (L-R front) Suzanne Rodgers, Kathryn Rodgers, Laura Latham, Mary Hunter Latham; (L-R middle) Cynthia Rodgers, Evelyn Latham, Carolyn Loggins, Jay Russell, Gary Loggins; (L-R back) Mark Rodgers, Leigh Ann Russell, Joe Latham Jr., Susan Latham. Submitted photos by Atmore News for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Local Sprint Cellular Customers Experience Problems
November 29, 2008
An Alabama fiber optic cable cut had Sprint cellular phone customers in North Escambia and South Alabama unable to make calls Friday evening.
The fiber line belonging to CenturyTel was cut about 2:00 Friday afternoon; that fiber line is used to connect Sprint cellular towers together and carry calls to the telephone network. That created a “hit or miss” calling problem for Sprint cell phone customers from Mobile to Montgomery, including portions of North Escambia, sometimes unable to make calls.
A Sprint spokesperson said that making a call or using other features such as the Internet or text messaging was difficult at times. With enough tries, a customers should have been able to get a call to go through.
Flomaton’s Tony Ellis Is Finalist For Alabama’s Mr. Football
November 29, 2008
Tony Ellis from the Flomaton Hurricanes is one of the finalists for the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s 2008 Mr. Football title.
The Canes senior running back is one of 42 finalists for the award. The finalists were picked from 146 players that were nominated by ASWA members or or coaches.
Ellis is one of three back of the year finalists in Alabama 2A football. His high school career included at least 1,500 rushing yards per year for each of the last three years at Flomaton. Ellis, who is 5-fo-9, had over 5,000 rushing yards in his high school career with the Canes.
The Mr. Football award winner will be named in December.
Photos courtesy Mike Newton Photography.
Book Sale To Purchase Underwear For Needy Children
November 29, 2008
If you are book shopping in Pensacola this weekend, you can make your purchase at one bookstore and help purchase underwear for homeless children at the same time.
The Escambia County Coalition on the Homeless will receive a percentage of sales at Barnes and Nobles on Airport Boulevard. The funds are used to purchase new underwear for homeless children in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. When you make your purchase, you should tell the cashier that you want your purchase to benefit the homeless children fund raiser.
Last year, the ECOH spent $5,000 to meet children’s needs in the two counties. The ECOH says that hey have more children than ever with needs this year due to the number of families that are having problems with housing and other bills. A full 100 percent of all funds go benefit homeless children, including some here in North Escambia.
Direct donations to the project can be made to: Homeless Children’s Underwear Fund, E.C.O.H., P. O Box 17222, Pensacola, FL 32522.
Keep The Wreath Green Campaign Kicks Off Next Week In Escambia
November 28, 2008
Escambia County Fire-Rescue and the City of Pensacola Fire Department are participating in “Keep the Wreath Green,” a holiday safety program designed to promote fire safety during the month of December. With this program, officials hope to reduce the number of fires during a time of serious fire danger with simple, life saving tips.
This year, the fifth year of the campaign, five-foot wreaths will be on display at 22 different locations throughout the holiday season. These sites are the Old Escambia County Courthouse on Palafox Place, the Public Safety Building on W Street, all 18 primary county fire stations, and two fire stations within the City of Pensacola. Every time firefighters respond to a residential fire a green light bulb will be replaced with a red one to remind citizens of the dangers posed by holiday decorations.
In North Escambia, wreaths will be displayed at the Century and Molino fire stations.
To help citizens stay safe and “keep the wreath green,” officials are providing a holiday safety tip for each day of the month; visit www.keepthewreathgreen.com for a complete list.
A kick-off event for the campaign will be held on Monday, December 1 at 6 p.m. with the lighting of the wreath at the Escambia County Governmental Complex, 221 Palafox Place.
Escambia County Fire-Rescue and the City of Pensacola encourage everyone to follow the safety tips and have a happy holiday season. If you have additional questions regarding fire safety or the “Keep the Wreath Green” program, please contact Lt. Daniel Akerman at (850) 475-5530.
Pictured above: The wreath at the Century fire station last December. NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Buy Video Games As Gifts? Attorney General Says Be Careful
November 28, 2008
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum today urged parents and other consumers to check the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) ratings before purchasing computer or video games as gifts.
According to industry statistics, more than 50 percent of computer and video games are sold during the holiday shopping season, making it critical that shoppers ensure the games they give to young people are age and content appropriate.
“Though the holiday season is one of the busiest times of year, it is also perhaps the most important time of the year for consumers to make sure they know what they’re buying for their loved ones,” said Attorney General McCollum. “The ESRB rating system provides parents and others with age and content information which can be informative tools when purchasing games for family and friends.”
ESRB ratings are designed to provide information about computer and video game content so consumers can make informed purchase decisions. As part of the rating system, rating symbols suggest age appropriateness for the game, and content descriptors indicate elements in a game that may have triggered a particular rating and may be of
concern.
“More than 40 percent of Americans expect to purchase a computer or video game this year and a majority of those games are purchased during the holiday shopping season,” said Michael D. Gallagher, CEO of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the trade association representing U.S. computer and video game publishers. “As parents choose titles from the broad range of entertainment choices our industry offers, we urge them to use the ESRB ratings system to ensure the games they purchase for their children are appropriate.”
“As a parent, I know it can sometimes feel overwhelming trying to manage the media that our children consume, but video games are actually among the easiest to control,” said Patricia Vance, president of the ESRB. “The ESRB ratings are easy to understand, and provide valuable guidance about the age appropriateness and content of video games so parents can determine which games are appropriate for their children. I strongly encourage parents to remember to check the ratings each time they buy or rent a game for their child.”
The ESRB recently supplemented its rating system by launching new ratings summaries. The summaries, released for all games rated since July 1, 2008, provide brief, objective descriptions of the content and surrounding context that factored into a video game’s rating assignment. Parents and other interested individuals may access these summaries on
the ESRB website, http://www.esrb.org, via a new mobile address, m.esrb.org, or through ESRB’s rating search widget.
Thanksgiving Night Accident Critically Injures Walnut Hill Man
November 27, 2008
A 21-year old Walnut Hill man was critically injured in a single vehicle accident Thanksgiving night.
The Florida Highway Patrol says Jarod Evan Jones, 21, was ejected from his GMC Sierra pickup on Highway 97A near Walnut Hill about 9:00 Thursday night.
The pickup left Highway 97A, hit a culvert at Corley Road and rolled multiple times over a distance of almost a tenth of a mile in the ditch alongside Highway 97A. Speed was an apparent factor in the accident.
Jones was transported by LifeFlight to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola in critical condition.
The accident is still under investigation by the FHP. The Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department, Atmore Fire Department and Atmore Ambulance responded to the call.
Pictured above and below: Scenes from an accident on Highway 97A in Walnut Hill Thanksgiving night. Scroll down for multiple photos. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos, click to enlarge.
One Person Injured In Early Morning Walnut Hill Accident
November 27, 2008
One person was injured in an single vehicle accident early Thanksgiving morning in Walnut Hill.
The accident occurred just after 12:00 a.m. Thursday on Highway 97 near the Walnut Hill Community Center. The driver of a Z28 Camaro lost control while traveling southbound on Highway 97. The vehicle left the roadway, hit several trees and a culvert before flipping around and landing nearly over on the driver’s side. The first people on the scene said the driver was trapped, but then crawled partial out of the vehicle.
The first firemen on the scene had to use a chainsaw to cut some of the brush away from the car to reach the driver. The unidentified man stated that he was from Pensacola.
The person that found the accident stated that the driver of the Camaro had passed him a bit further north on Highway 97 at “about 100 mph”.
The driver of the vehicle was transported by LifeFlight to a Pensacola hospital. His injures, which included a broken leg or hip, were not believed to be immediately life threatening.
The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.
Escambia Fire-Rescue units from Walnut Hill, Molino and Century responded to the call, along with Atmore Ambulance.
Pictured above: The driver of this Camaro lost control at a high rate of speed early Thursday morning in Walnut Hill. Pictured below: Emergency personnel work to reach the driver of the car. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
