Brush Fires Keep Fire Department Busy Friday Afternoon
October 3, 2008
Two different brush fires kept the Walnut Hill station of Escambia County Fire-Rescue busy Friday afternoon.
The first fire was reported about 1:30 Friday afternoon in a pasture or field behind home and farm buildings in the 1500 block of Highway 97A, between Arthur Brown Road and Corley Road.The fire was reported to be burning about two acres were firmen arrived from the Walnut Hill station The fire was reported to be under control at about 2:10.
The second was reported about 3:00 on Nokomis Road just east of Highway 97. Firefighters were able to extinguish most of the fire on the ground, but at least four tall trees were burning well above ground level. For that reason, the Florida Division of Forestry was called to assist. Firemen were on scene at that fire until just after 5:00 Friday afternoon.
No structures were damaged by either fire, and there were no injuries.
Pictured above: A tanker truck is seen arriving in the mirror as a brush fire burns in the background on Highway 97A near Walnut Hill Friday afternoon. Pictured below: Firemen work to contain a brush fire on Nokomis Road east of Highway 97 in Davisville. Pictured bottom: The fire was reported about 1:30 Friday afternoon. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Sign Returns Four Years After Ivan
October 3, 2008
For the first time in four years, a sign now marks the entrance to the Century Industrial Park.
The new sign, built by Markham and Sons of Pensacola, was erected Thursday afternoon. It was purchased by the Town of Century in April for $7,905 to replace a sign that was destroyed back in 2004 when Hurricane Ivan roared through the area.
The sign is located at Industrial Boulevard and Highway 4 in Century.
Most of the money for the eight by ten foot sign was from insurance proceeds the town received back in 2004.
Pictured above and below: A sign was returned to the Century Industrial Park Thursday, four years after a similar sign was destroyed by Hurricane Ivan. NorthEscambia.com photos.
Man Shot In Davisville Thursday Evening; Manhunt Follows As He Flees
October 3, 2008
Authorities are investigating a shooting that occurred near the Davisville community Thursday evening in an incident that ended with a manhunt for the victim.
A male subject was shot at a home on Deer Lake Road about 5:45 p.m. Thursday by a female at the home on the isolated dirt road.
“It was a domestic violence related shooting,” Sgt. Steve Smith with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department told NorthEscambia.com.
The male was reported to have been shot in the face by the female, but he fled the scene before deputies arrived.
Deputies established a perimeter and searched the area but were not immediately able to locate the man. He was found nearly an hour later by the sheriff’s department helicopter, hiding just off Rockaway Creek Road, about a mile and a third from the original shooting location.
He was transported by ambulance to an awaiting Lifeflight helicopter at the Walnut Hill Community Center on Highway 97. The helicopter had been on the ground at the community center waiting for about an hour for the injured man to be located and transported. He was able to walk from the back of the ambulance to a stretcher, speaking cordially to members of the Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department.
The male was transported by Lifeflight to Baptist Hospital in Pensacola with superficial gunshot wounds, Smith said. He was not immediately charged with any crime.
The female involved in the incident was not injured, and she was not immediately charged with any crime.
The entire incident is still under investigation, Smith said. He declined to release the names of the individuals involved due to the ongoing investigation.
Pictured above: Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies and Atmore Ambulance crew members stage at Young Road and Rockaway Creek Road at sunset Thursday as a search continued in the area for a man shot in a domestic dispute. Pictured below: The shooting victim is loaded into an ambulance on Rockaway Creek Road, over a mile away from the original shooting location. Pictured bottom. The shooting victim was transported by ambulance to the Walnut Hill Community Center and transferred to Lifeflight. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos, click to enlarge.
Bad Night For Ernest Ward Eagles
October 3, 2008
The Ernest Ward Golden Eagle lost to Monroe County Thursday night in Walnut Hill, 44-8.
The Eagles will be on the road next Thursday night against W.S. Neal.
Photos courtesy Erin Pritchett, Cutting Ej Photography for NorthEscambia.com.
Catholic Over Northview On V-ball Court
October 3, 2008
Catholic High School beat both the Northview varsity and JV volleyballs teams on the Chiefs’ home court Thursday afternoon.
Catholic beat the varsity team 20-25, 19-25, 20-25.
Ashley Digmon had an impressive 24 digs at Catholic. Senior Brittney Thompson had four blocks, two kills and an also impressive 24 digs for the Chiefs. Angela Rodriguez had five kills, one assist and four digs. Caitlin Hall, a junior, had one block, eight assists, five digs and a pair of aces. Shawna Montgomery had one block, four kills, a whopping 23 digs and an ace.
The Chiefs’ JV team also lost to Catholic, 8-25, 17-25.
Katie Wieborg picked up three digs. Raylin Spence had two aces and a dig for the Chiefs. Trestine Dean had a couple of digs, and Christina Sepulveda had a kill and an ace.
Northview’s varsity volleyball team will play in the Tate Varsity Tournament this weekend at Tate High School. Both the varsity and JV will travel W.S. Neal on Monday.
Son Charged For Slashing Mother’s Throat In North Santa Rosa
October 3, 2008
An 86-year old North Santa Rosa County woman was found dead Tuesday, and her son was charged with her murder on Thursday.
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’ Department says Bonnie Lewis was found dead, slumped over a chair, in her home on Lewis Road, just east of the intersection of Highway 4 and Highway 87 in the Berrydale community.
Lewis was found about 8:30 Tuesday night by a family member. Authorities are not releasing any more details in the ongoing death investigation.
Her son, David J. Lewis (pictured left), was arrested late Wednesday afternoon on unrelated outstanding warrants and then charged with murder on Thursday. He told deputies that he slashed his mother’s throat with a knife. Lewis, 56, was being held without bond a first degree murder charge.
The outstanding warrants were in connection with a September 10 incident unrelated to the murder. He faces a felony charge of fleeing and eluding law enforcement officers at a high speed and a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest without violence. Those charges stemmed from Lewis reportedly fleeing when a deputy attempted to stop him for a suspected DUI offense in Milton.
A half dozen deputies spent about an hour searching David Lewis’ trailer for about an hour Wednesday morning, but deputies did not release any details about the search.
Northview JV Falls To Baker
October 3, 2008
The Northview High School JV football team lost to Baker Thursday night in Bratt, 30-0.
The JV Chiefs will be at home next week against West Florida High School.
Pictured above and below: Action from Thursday night’s NHS JV versus Baker game. Submitted photos by Heather Leonard for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Barrineau Park Music Night Tonight
October 3, 2008
The popular monthly Barrineau Park Music Night will be tonight at the Barrineau Park Community Center.
Harold and Ovaline Andrews and Sawgrass Revial will both perform at the free family-friendly event.
Harold and Ovaline Andrews have performed all over the southeast for many years. Sawgrass Revival was the Florida state champion Bluegrass Instrumental Band.
Both groups will perform for one hour. A short program will then be offered by Ken Carr, an exceptional guitar picker.
A catered meal from Archie’s Catering Smokehouse will be available before the show from 5 until 7 p.m. The meal is $9. All entertainment is free, with or without the purchase of a meal.
The Barrineau Park Music Night begins at 7:00 at the Barrineau Park Community Center, a family friendly environment. No alcohol or smoking is permitted.
For more information, call 587-5575.
Pictured top: Sawgrass Revival is one of the groups performing at tonight’s Barrineau Park Music Night. Pictured below: Harold and Ovaline Andrews will alse be performing. Submitted photos.
Movie With A Message: Locals Fireproof Their Marriages
October 2, 2008
Critics are calling the movie “Fireproof” remarkable, and at least one local pastor is already using the film as a tool in his church, teaching couples to strengthen their marriages.
The action-packed inspirational movie “does have its commendable elements, including that rarest of creatures on the big (or small) screen: characters with a strong, conservative Christian faith who don’t sound crazy,” according a New York Times review.
“For a Christian audience and non-Christians, it is absolutely a movie you should see,” Pastor Ted Bridges of the Walnut Hill Baptist Church said. About 20 adults and 10 youth from the church watched the movie on Saturday, opening weekend. The film opened at number four in the country, despite a limited release on just 839 screens across the U.S.
At work, inside burning buildings, Capt. Caleb Holt lives by the old firefighter’s adage: Never leave your partner behind. At home, in the cooling embers of his marriage, he lives by his own rules. After seven years of marriage, Caleb and Catherine Holt have drifted so far apart that Catherine wishes she had never married. Neither one understands the pressures the other faces–he as firefighter and she as the public relations director of a hospital.
Regular arguments over jobs, finances, housework, and outside interests have readied them both to move on to something with more sparks. As the couple prepares to enter divorce proceedings, Caleb’s father challenges his son to commit to a 40-day experiment he calls “The Love Dare.” Wondering if it’s even worth the effort, Caleb agrees, but more for his father’s sake more than for his marriage.
“The movie is a very good depiction of how the enemy (the devil) works against the sanctity of marriage,” Bridges said. “It speaks to a lot of the pressures of our society like finances, and even things like Internet pornography.” (The pornography, Bridges said, is implied, not shown on screen.)
“A wife can see areas from her side of the marriage and learn; men can walk away with how we can live our lives better in our marriage,” he said. Even the youth from Walnut Hill Baptist that attended the movie walked away having learned things from the movie, he said.
Fireproof, starring Kirk Cameron, was produced by Sherwood Pictures and Sherwood Baptist Church in Georgia with an all-volunteer 1,200 member cast and crew. But it’s not a bad production nor a “B movie”, Bridges said.
“It’s not boring; it’s not a bad production,” Bridges said. “There are a lot of fire scenes that are well done and exciting.”
The couples from Walnut Hill Baptist that attended the movie went out to eat following the show, holding a discussion about marriage. Each couple signed a certificate rededicating themselves to their marriage, and the men presented their wives with a single rose.
“It was touching,” Bridges said. “Even the big ole tough fellows were standing around talking about the movie, asking each other if they cried. ‘Yeah, I cried,’ they said.”
The movie is not belittling toward non-Christians, nor does it “preach”, the pastor said. “It’s not Christians on a soapbox,” he said.
Bridges said he hopes to see more Christian movies that are good entertainment coming out of Hollywood.
Fireproof is the third movie from Sherwood Pictures. Their first movie, “Flywheel”, had only a very limited release on DVD in 2003. Their underdog football team movie, “Facing the Giants”, grossed over $10 million despite being produced on a $100,000 budget in 2006.
Fireproof is showing at the Rave Theater at W Street and Highway 29 in Pensacola. For more information about the movie, visit www.fireproofthemovie.com.
Century Whataburger Sold From Franchisee To Whataburger Company
October 2, 2008
The franchise owner of the Century Whataburger has been sold back to the family-owned Whataburger company.
Whataburger acquired its largest franchisee, Barrand, Inc. Barrand is a Texas based company with 47 Whataburger restauarants in the Florida Panhandle and Northeast Texas, including the store in Century that opened in mid-December.
These restaurants were operated by Barrand, Inc.’s owner and longtime Whataburger franchisee, Randal Brown. Whataburger Vice President of Franchise Development Clifton Rutledge will oversee the newly acquired restaurants, 24 in Northeast Texas and 23 in the Florida Panhandle. He will work with approximately 1,700 Barrand, Inc. team members to continue Whataburger’s 58-year burger tradition.
“Randal has been a part of our franchise system for 24 years. His restaurants are known for their friendly service, as community gathering places, and were consistently among the highest volume restaurants in the system.” Preston Atkinson, Whataburger President and COO, said. “This acquisition goes far beyond numbers for Whataburger. It is significant because it means we can ensure that our loyal customers continue to receive the friendly service and fresh, made-to-order food they’ve come to love at Whataburger.”
Brown became a Whataburger franchise operator in 1983, opened his first location in Desoto, Texas and demonstrated steady growth to 47 restaurants.
“I’ve enjoyed being a part of the Whataburger family and seeing this brand grow,” Brown said. “I know our restaurants will continue to be an important part of many Texas and Florida communities for years to come.”
Whataburger will now own 591 of 712 Whataburger restaurants, including 84% percent of all its locations in Florida, strengthening its position in the first state Whataburger expanded to outside of Texas.
Family-owned Whataburger has focused on its fresh, made-to-order burgers and friendly customer service since 1950, when company founder Harmon Dobson opened his first Whataburger restaurant in Corpus Christi. The small, wooden stand sold the enormous burgers for 25 cents each, and before the first week was out, lines stretched down the street.
Today, the company has more than 700 locations in 10 states with sales of more than $1 billion annually.
Pictured above: Whataburger in Century was among 47 stores sold from a franchise owner back to the Whataburger company. NorthEscambia.com file photo.