Commissioners Ask Court Clerk, Tax Collector To Stay In Century
May 23, 2009
The Escambia County Commission is asking the Escambia County Tax Collector and Escambia County Clerk of the Court to keep their offices open in Century.
Earlier this month, Tax Collector Janet Holley and Clerk of the Court Ernie Lee Magaha announced that they were closing their offices in Century’s Billy G. Ward Courthouse by the end of May.
District 5 Commissioner Kevin White introduced a last-minute resolution to the commission asking the county officers to reconsider.
“The county can’t make them keep their offices open,” White said, “because they are constitutional officers. They don’t have to listen to us, but we can ask.”
The resolution says the offices are a vital service for Century and surrounding parts of North Escambia.
“In addition to the convenience of having these offices located in the Century courthouse, these branch offices have provided a vital link to certain governmental services for those with transportation, mobility or other difficulties accessing government offices farther away from the residences of such people.”
“The Board of County Commissioners hereby requests that both Escambia County Clerk of Court and the Escambia County Tax Collector maintain branch offices at the Century courthouse,” the resolution continues.
At last report, both offices were still scheduled to close next week.
A Wet Spring Football Game: Northview’s Garnet And Gold
May 23, 2009
It was a win-win game for the Northview Chiefs Friday night with the school’s intrasquad game ending in a tie after an overtime period. At the end of five rainy quarters, the Garnet and the Gold were tied at 6-6. Both teams picked up a touchdown in overtime, ending the game with a tie.
For a complete NorthEscambia.com photo gallery with the best plays from the game, the cheerleaders, the band and lots of wet fans and umbrellas, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Bond Set For Molino Woman Accused Of Hitting Child, Husband
May 23, 2009
An Escambia County judge has set bond at $10,000 for a Molino woman accused of hitting her child in the head with a plate and slapping her husband.
Tina Louise Ferrell, 46, was booked into the Escambia Jail Thursday night where she was charged with one count of aggravated child abuse and one count of aggravated battery in connection with an incident about 7 p.m. at a mobile home on Duxbury Avenue off Highway 29 in Molino.
Friday afternoon, she appeared on a video feed before Circuit Court Judge Joyce Williams. Williams set Ferrell’s bond at $10,000 total on the two counts. She was also ordered to submit to monitoring through the pre-trial release program, submit to random urine and breath testing and consume no alcohol or non prescription drugs.
As of early Saturday morning, Ferrell had not made bond and was still in the Escambia County Jail.
Ferrell was also ordered to have no contact with the children at the Duxbury Avenue address where the incident occurred. The court ordered a public defender appointed for Ferrell.
She will back in court in mid-June for an arraignment hearing.
Ferrell and her husband were asleep about 7 p.m. when her 10-year old child tried to wake her to get help with a one-year old child in the home, according to Sgt. Kevin Vickrey with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department. When Ferrell refused to help with the infant and went back to sleep, the 10-year old tried to wake her again with drops of water sprinkled in her face. That’s when Ferrell slapped her husband and threw a plate a him, Vickrey said. The plate missed the husband and struck a three-year old in the head.
The three-year old was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola with injuries that were not believed to be serious, according to deputies. The child is expected to make a full recovery. The 10 and one-year olds were not injured.
Whataburger Closing Some Florida Stores; Century To Remain Open
May 23, 2009
Whataburger says they are closing 14 Florida restaurants on May 31, but Pensacola area stores — including the one in Century — are safe for now.
The company says it is closing the stores due to low sales. They are all company owned stores near Gainesville, Ocla, Orlando and Tampa. The 14 fast food restaurants were opened by a franchisee but purchased by the Whataburger company in 2007.
When the Century Whataburger opened in December 2007, it was owned by a franchisee. It and 22 others in the Florida Panhandle were sold back to Whataburger about seven months ago. The company says the Century store and the others in the Floirda Panhandle will stay open.
Most of Whataburger’s 700-plus stores are in Texas.
The 14 central Florida stores are being closed due to low sales, company officials said.
Atmore Gets $200,000 Airport Grant
May 23, 2009
The Federal Aviation Administration has awarded over $200,000 to the City of Atmore to expand and improve the city’s airport.
The FAA will award Atmore $210,383 to acquire land for approaches and construct an access road at the Atmore Municipal Airport. The grant was part of $2,416,438 in total funding announced for six regional airports in Alabama for infrastructure improvements.
The grants were announced Friday by U.S. Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama. Shelby serves as a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
“Investing in the infrastructure of Alabama’s regional airports will not only provide the safest and most efficient transportation services for Alabamians, but also ensure that the area remains desirable for residents and businesses,” said Shelby. “This grant will provide funding to help Alabama’s regional airports make improvements that are necessary to accommodate those traveling to, from, and through our great state.”
Other airports receiving grants were Albertville Regional-Thomas J. Brumlik Field, Dothan Regional Airport, Mobile Regional Airport, Northeast Alabama Regional Airport, Roanoke Municipal Airport and Vaiden Field Airport.
The largest grant was $724,596 to the Dothan Regional Airport to improve its runway safety area, install airfield guidance signs, and rehabilitate its taxiway.
Northview Plays Spring Game
May 22, 2009
Tonight’s Garnet and Gold game at Northview High School ended in a tie.
Coming up Saturday morning, we’ll have a complete photo gallery with the players, cheerleaders, band and crowd.
FSU Coach Lunches In Century
May 22, 2009
The assistant head coach at Florida State University stopped in Century for lunch Thursday, and ended up being a bit of a birthday surprise.
Ronnie Faulk of Walnut Hill took his wife Liz out to lunch at the Southern Panhandle Restaurant for her birthday. He noticed a man that he thought looked familiar come into the restaurant.
That man was Mickey Andrews, associate head coach and defensive coordinator for the FSU Seminoles. Andrews had lunch with the Faulks and Escambia County Sheriff’s Deputy Randy Murph.
“It was a great pleasure to have him sit and have lunch with us and talk about the old days when he played for Bear Bryant at Bama,” Faulk said. “He thinks FSU will have a good team this year even though they are young.”
Andrews, now in his 24th year at FSU, is from Daleville, Alabama, very near where Faulk grew up. Faulk remembers stopping many times at a store in Post Oak, Alabama, near Ozark, where Andrews’ parents owned a small store.
“I remember when he played at Bama, back in the 60’s,” Faulk said. “It was a real pleasure to have lunch with him and talk about football and where we grew up.”
After his lunch, Andrews was headed to Jay High School to talk to a potential FSU recruit, Faulk said.
Gangs In Century? Sheriff’s Department Responds
May 22, 2009
Century does not have a gang problem like some Pensacola areas, but gang members sometimes hide out in the area — that was the word from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department at a Thursday night town hall meeting.
“There has been a resurgence of gang like behavior, wanna-be little kids emulating older folks,” Paula Jernigan, curriculum coordinator at Carver/Century K-8 told Escambia Chief Deputy Bill Chavers. “Do we have gang activity in Century? Or Not? It’s hard to tell if it’s just kids playing.”
“I do know there are active gangs in Escambia County as defined by state law,” Chavers said. “But I don’t think they are in Century.”
“No, they do not have a gang problem up here,” Lt. Pat Spears said, adding that she had just called a supervisor with the department’s gang unit. “Some from down there come up here to hang out and hide, but they are not active here.”
“Century is holding its own right now,” Chavers said, primarily because of the hard work of the deputies assigned to the area. “They are working their butts off up here,” he said of the Century precinct deputies. The Century precinct includes not only the town, but areas like Bratt, Walnut Hill and McDavid — almost everything north of the Highway 29 and Highway 97 intersection.
And more deputies are on the way to help, Chavers said. Five new deputies will soon be added to patrols in North Escambia; three in Century and two in Molino.
The chief deputy said that Sheriff David Morgan has taken a community approach to law enforcement, increasing community patrols and visibility. Morgan has walked the streets of Century, held lunches, spoke to the Tri-Cities Rotary Club as NorthEscambia.com’s guest, and used the department’s bike patrol four times in Century.”
“We want to get the word out that we are not afraid to get out and be active in the community,” Chavers said. “We can’t be everywhere at all times, but we try go through the area as much as we can.”
The increased sheriff’s department presence in the Century area has not been without results. Increased narcotics division work in Century is making progress, Chavers said, adding “you will be surprised when we are done and release the numbers”.
Across the county, the chief deputy said about 80 percent of all crime can be traced back to narcotics.
“Economic times are part of our problem. Times are tough. Tempers are short; people are scared,” he said. “In 35 years of law enforcement, I’ve never seen so many people carrying guns.”
Sheriff Morgan was originally scheduled to be at a town hall meeting in Century on May 7, but he rescheduled that meeting due to an orientation scheduled for the same night at Ernest Ward Middle School. Due to an error with the sheriff’s calendar, the Century meeting was inadvertently rescheduled for May 21, the same night as a speech Morgan had scheduled to the Pensacola Military Officers Association. The Pensacola commitment was made prior to the Century eventdate being planned.
Molino Mom Arrested For Child Abuse, Battery On Husband
May 22, 2009
A Molino mother was arrested last night on child abuse and battery after hitting her three-year old in the head with a plate and slapping her husband.
Tina Louise Ferrell, 46, was booked into the Escambia Jail Thursday night where she was charged with one count of aggravated child abuse and one count of aggravated battery in connection with an incident about 7 p.m. at a mobile home on Duxbury Avenue off Highway 29 in Molino.
Ferrell and her husband were asleep about 7 p.m. when her 10-year old child tried to wake her to get help with a one-year old child in the home, according to Sgt. Kevin Vickrey with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department. When Ferrell refused to help with the infant and went back to sleep, the 10-year old tried to wake her again with drops of water sprinkled in her face. That’s when Ferrell slapped her husband and threw a plate a him, Vickrey said. The plate missed the husband and struck the three-year old in the head.
The three-year old was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola with injuries that were not believed to be serious, according to deputies. The child is expected to make a full recovery.
Ferrell was being held in the Escambia County Jail with no bond early Friday morning.
Pictured: Tina Louise Ferrell was booked into the Escambia County Jail on child abuse and battery charges Thursday night after reportedly throwing a plate that hit her three-year old in the head. Escambia County Sheriff’s Department photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
New Photos, New Details In The Case Of Chad Jeter, Accused Of Bank Robbery And Attempted Murder
May 22, 2009
Authorities are continuing to piece together the plans and actions of Chad Floyd Jeter, 30, the man accused of robbing an Atmore bank and making threats against military bases.
New details have emerged about the case as authorities continue their investigation and begin to piece together Jeter’s actions between 3:30 Tuesday afternoon and early Thursday morning. Federal officials are also attempting to determine if Jeter intended to attack American military bases as he reportedly threatened to do.
Here’s what we know so far about Jeter’s actions, based upon law enforcement reports from Atmore to Escambia and Levy counties in Florida:
At 3:32 Tuesday afternoon, Jeter turned off South Main Street in Atmore into the side parking lot of the First National Bank & Trust. He drove his white GMC pickup truck through the outside of the bank’s drive thru (pictured), headed toward the back parking lot of the bank. Surveillance camera footage shows a white camper shell on the back of the vehicle with a portrait of a saluting soldier painted on the side along with two faded reproductions of the same figure.
Jeter parked his truck, presumably in the back parking lot of the bank. He then entered the bank, dressed in a dark colored trench coat, a hat with a sports team logo and was armed with a .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle. Within seconds, he is seen on the surveillance tape tossing a U.S. Army backpack onto a teller window.
Jeter stands at the teller window (pictured left), wearing dark sunglasses and holding the rifle pointed at the floor in his right hand. He reportedly threatened a teller with the rifle during the crime. There were no injuries in the bank.
He then exits the bank into the back parking lot. He is seen headed south out of the back parking lot, headed south on Pensacola Avenue. The tailgate of his truck says “Steel City” in orange and red lettering.
Atmore Police arrive at the bank within moments after Jeter drives away. They begin a search for the truck and begin gathering information about the crime. Escambia County (Ala.) Sherrif’s deputies respond to Atmore. Across the state line in Florida, an Escambia County deputy responds to Highway 97 just south of Atmore to watch for the truck. Other deputies head toward the area, including an Escambia County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Department investigator who begins searching for the truck around Bratt. Authorities do not know Jeter’s indentity at this point, but the investigator told NorthEscambia.com at the time that he had a hunch that whoever the robber might be, he just might head toward Bratt. The investigator would, at least hours later, turn out to be very correct.
Meanwhile, Alabama officials locate a vehicle similar to the description. The vehicle is stopped near the county line between Escambia and Baldwin counties. The white male in the truck is transported to the back parking lot of the FNB&T. Authorities stand the potential suspect (pictured left), both with and without a ball cap that he is wearing, outside the employee entrance of the bank as employees inside take a look to see if he is the suspect. He is not, and the man is released by authorities.
Within about two hours of the robbery, Alabama officials identify the suspect as Jeter. Police are notified to be on the lookout for him around the South, and his driver’s license photo is distributed to the media.
Officials search his trailer on Highway 31 near Canoe. Inside, they find troubling evidence that Jeter may be planning to attack a military base. He said in letters and notes that he is being watched by helicopters that circle his home. Police find maps with the locations of several military bases circled, including Pensacola NAS, Eglin Air Force Base, Whiting Field and Alabama’s Ft. Rucker. The notes indicate that he plans to kill military personnel and police. Military bases are alerted to the possible threat.
Jeter’s whereabouts for the next several hours are unknown. By midnight Tuesday, he is known to have been on Pine Barren Road south of Highway 4. The McDavid Station of Escambia Fire Rescue is dispatched to a seemingly normal brush fire on a secluded section of Pine Barren Road near Breastworks Road (pictured left) at 12:10 a.m. The Florida Division of Forestry is called to assist. They use a bulldozer to create a line around the fire in the woods about 1:30 Wednesday morning.
Later in the morning Wednesday, authorities discover a burned out camper shell in the woods on Pine Barren Road. The outline of saluting soldiers is still recognizable on the camper shell, and the “Steel City” tailgate is located. Now authorities are searching for a rather ordinary looking white GMC pickup truck.
Escambia County deputies receive a tip Wednesday morning that Jeter’s truck was seen at a mobile home at 3740 Highway 168 near Wiggins Road. Multiple law enforcement agencies respond. Jeter and his truck are not found at the residence, but a meth lab is discovered. Read that story here.
While on routine patrol at 4:15 Eastern time Thursday morning, an Inglis (Fla.) Police Department officer, Tim Swigget, locates a blue GMC pickup trucked parked backed into a wooded area near a Yankeetown, Florida, neighborhood. Inside the vehicle that is nearly 400 miles from Atmore, he finds Jeter sleeping.
“The officer approached the subject and initiated the investigation and it was determined that the subject was Chad Floyd Jeter from Atmore, Alabama,” said Lt. Scott Finnen with the Levy County Sheriff’s Office. Then Swiggett determined Jeter’s identity and that he was wanted in connection with the Tuesday robbery of the First National Bank & Trust in Atmore. Jeter then assaulted the officer and managed to cut the officer in neck before running into the woods,” Finnen said. Swiggett was injured when Jeter threw a Ninja star at his neck. Bleeding profusely, he radios for help.
The Levy County Sheriff’s Office, Inglis Police Department, Citrus County Sheriff’s Office, a Cross City Correctional K-9 team, the U.S. Coast Guard and emergency personnel respond to the scene. Swigget was transported to Seven Rivers Hospital with minor injuries where he was later treated and released. Police officers begin their search for Jeter, who has fled into a wooded, swampy area. He is located by the K-9 unit and taken into custody. He is then transported to the Levy County Jail and booked for the attempted murder of the police officer.
Photos from the scene appear to show that the truck was once white but had been spray painted blue. Jeter’s truck was towed from the scene to a police impound lot and not thoroughly searched, according to Finnen. He said a search warrant would be obtained before a complete search of the truck (pictured left). Alabama authorities said an undetermined amount of cash and a .22 automatic rifle were found in the truck Thursday morning, a fact that Finnen denied.
Military police have become involved in the investigation and are working to determine what Jeter’s interest in the military might be, and if his threats against the military were ever credible. Authorities would not immediately confirm if Jeter had ever served in the military, but deputies did say Jeter would remain in the Levy County Jail without bond until the investigation was complete. It was not clear if he would face the attempted murder charges in Florida or be extradited back to Alabama to face the federal bank robbery charges first.
NorthEscambia.com will continue to follow this developing story, posting the latest details as they become available.
Pictured top: Chad Floyd Jeter’s truck as it was found early Thursday morning. It appears that the white truck was spray painted blue. Pictured top inset: Jeter in the back of a police cruiser early Thursday morning near Yankeetown, Florida. He had just been arrested in marshy, wooded area after a manhunt that started after he allegedly attempted to murder a police officer. Submitted and NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos, click any photo on this page to enlarge.