Strike It Rich: Oil At An Area Prison?
September 17, 2009
Could there be a goldmine of oil under an Atmore prison? The Alabama Department of Corrections hopes there is.
The prison system has inked a five-year contract with Foote Oil & Gas Properties of Gulf Shores to look for oil near the G.K. Fountain Correctional Facility in Atmore. The company has already paid the department $400,000 for the chance to explore for oil. If they do strike oil or natural gas, the state will receive a 25 percent royalty and $300 per acre.
Engineers think seismographic surveys show potential oil or natural gas around the prison’s 800 acres, part of an area of crude oil that extends northward from the Mobile area. Two 16,000 foot deep test wells at the prison did not find oil, and a third is being drilled now. Each well costs Foote about $1 million.
Foote has also signed exploration contracts with several private property owners in the same area.
Robbery Suspect Arrested For Tire Thefts Was Due In Court At Same Time
September 17, 2009
During the 9:00 hour Monday that a Century man was being arrested for allegedly stealing tires, he was actually due to be in an Escambia County courtroom on a concealed weapons charge.
Antonio Demetrius Ewing, 19, of West Highway 4, Century, was charged with burglary, escape and larceny in connection with the tire incident Monday morning on Alger Road in Century.
Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies found Ewing trying to fit tires onto a Pontiac Firebird with no tag in the parking lot of the Gospel Light Temple on Alger Road in Century about 9:20 Monday morning. The Firebird — the alleged getaway car from the robbery of the Tom Thumb in Molino at 6:10 a.m. — had a flat tire. Deputies said Ewing had taken the tires and tools from a nearby shed, and he was trying to fit tires onto the Firebird — including tires that had no rims.
Escambia County court records show that Ewing was arrested February 15 and charged with carrying a concealed weapon. He was released the next day on $2,500 bond. He pleaded not guilty about a month later. He was back in court on July 2, and he was due back Monday morning at 9:00 for a jury trial on the concealed weapons charge.
Because he did not appear in court Monday, a felony warrant for Ewing’s arrest was issued by Judge Frank Bell.
Ewing is facing the escape charge after he ran as deputies were walking him out of the Century Precinct to place him a cruiser to take him to jail. Deputies said Ewing ran across Highway 29 toward Century Woods Apartments where he lives. After a brief foot chase, Ewing was taken back into custody.
Deputies have named Ewing as one of two suspects in the Monday robbery of the Tom Thumb in Molino.
For the original NorthEscambia.com story on the incident, click here.
Pictured top: Escambia County Sheriff’s Investigator Frank Way photographs a vehicle located in Century Monday morning that may have been used in a Molino robbery earlier in the morning. Pictured bottom inset: Ewing in the back of a patrol car on Alger Road in Century shortly after his arrest. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos, click to enlarge.
I-10 Reopened After Hazardous Materials Tanker Wreck Cleared
September 16, 2009
(Updated) A nine-mile stretch of I-10 has been reopened in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties following an accident in which an 18-wheeler hauling anhydrous ammonia overturned this monring.
The truck overturned on Avalon Boulevard at I-10 in Milton. The accident has now been cleared, and all roads are open again.
“No leaks were detected as a result of the accident or when up righting the vehicle. The truck was carrying anhydrous ammonia and was in route to Tamico when the accident occurred,” according to Joy Tsubooka, Santa Rosa County PIO.
Teen Hit By Bus Thankful That She Is Alive
September 16, 2009
A Bratt teenager says she is lucky to be alive after being bumped by her school bus when it was slammed from behind Tuesday morning on Highway 4.
Courtney Gibson, 17, was crossing the road in front of her bus to board it when the bus was struck from the rear by a van driven by her neighbor. The impact sent the front of the van under the bus, pushing the bus forward about 21 feet and into Courtney’s arm. The impact was so severe it lifted the bus into the air; the back tires of the bus were left a few inches off the ground, supported by the van. Her only injury is a small bruise on her arm.
“I could have been killed, but I was so blessed,” she said. “I do thank God. He’s obviously got a plan for my life.”
It started as an ordinary day for Courtney and her mom, Janis Weaver. Like clockwork, Janis headed out of the driveway at 5:45 a.m., driving “BE 1″, Bryneville Elementary School’s new bus. At 6:15, Courtney was at the end of the driveway waiting for her bus to take her to West Florida High School where she is a senior. She is the first student to get on the bus each day.
“I looked both ways before crossing the road. I almost got hit one time before, so I try to be careful,” Courtney said.
“I saw him, but I thought he stopped,” she said of the van driven by Jesse Warner, 36. Jesse lives just four houses away. She continued across the street, around the guard at the front of the bus — an arm that extends to keep students from walking too close to the front of the bus where they can’t be seen by the driver.
“All of the sudden, Jesse’s van slammed into the bus. It moved forward and hit me in the arm. All is remember is screaming,” she said. “I got up and got on the bus.
“I was shaken and scared. I started crying when I talked to my mom (on the phone).”
Courtney also credits her survival to the quick thinking of her bus driver, Brenda Strickland of Pensacola. Strickland pulled the emergency brake, helping to stop the forward motion of the bus. Brenda was not injured in the crash, but she’s taking some time off before returning to work later this week.
“Mrs. Brenda is my hero; without her quick thinking, that bus could have rolled right over me.”
Once on the bus, Courtney did not realize the severity of the crash, and she did not know that it was her neighbor that had slammed into the bus. Once she was back off the bus, she knew the crash was bad, but it was some period of time before she realized who had hit the bus.
“I feel so bad for him, and I feel to bad for his kids,” she said. “I can imagine how they feel at this time.”
At West Florida High School, Courtney is working on becoming a certified nursing assistant. She has plans to study ultrasound at Pensacola Junior College and become a sonographer.
But she realizes that dream was almost cut short Tuesday morning.
“I almost didn’t get that chance,” Courtney said. “I just thank God that I did.”
For more information about the accident, click here for another story.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Hurricane Ivan Animated Landfall
September 16, 2009
The image above shows Hurricane Ivan making landfall on September 16, 2004. North Escambia was on the very northeastern corner of the eye as the storm moved northward. Radar estimates indicated sustained winds about 100 mph with higher guests about 4 a.m.
Watch The Survelliance Video From Tom Thumb Robbery
September 16, 2009
The two men that robbed the Tom Thumb in Molino Monday morning were in an out of the store in about 10 seconds according to survelliance video from the store.
Surveillance video show the two enter the front door, push a customer of the way, grab the entire cash register and leave. The Escambia County Sheriff’s Department has questioned two people in the case, including 19-year old Antonio Demetrius Ewing of West Highway 4, Century. Deputies have also questioned a 15-year old Ernest Ward Middle School student. No charges have been filed yet in connection with the case.
Ewing was arrested Monday, after stealing tires for alleged getaway car and then trying to escape from deputies. Read more here.
Click below to watch the survelliance video .
(If you do not see video above, it is because your employer, school or other firewall is blocking access to external videos.)
Members Of Congress Support Men In ACLU Prayer Case
September 16, 2009
Congressional Prayer Caucus members, including U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, are supporting Frank Lay, Pace High School principal, and Robert Freeman, the Pace athletic director, as they head to federal criminal charges for praying.
On Thursday, Freeman and Lay will be in federal court to face contempt charges for praying before a meal at a field house dedication despite an order against prayer in Santa Rosa County Schools issued in response to an ACLU lawsuit.
“Please know that we are standing with you in prayer and support as you face your trial on Thursday because of an offering of prayer,” the letter signed by Miller, Rep. Randy Forbes of Virginia and Mike McIntyre from the DNC wrote. The men wrote the letter as members of the Congressional Prayer Congress, a group comprised of 54 “members in the United States House of Representatives dedicated to protecting religious liberty, acknowledging tbe important role that prayer plays in American life, and recognizing our nation’s rich, spiritual history”.
“The tradition of offering prayer in America has become so interwoven into our nation’s spiritual heritage, that to charge someone criminally for engaging in such an innocent
practice would astonish tbe men who founded tlus country on religious liberty,” the letter states.
Click the image of the letter to enlarge in pdf format.
Five Years Later: Watch Hurricane Ivan Move Across North Escambia
September 16, 2009
The image above shows Hurricane Ivan a at 4:01 a.m. on September 16, 2004. Note that North Escambia is on the northeastern edge of the hurricane’s eye. To see an animated version of this radar image to watch the landfall, click the image above. Radar estimates indicated sustained winds about 100 mph with higher guests about 4 a.m.
Pedestrian Hit By Vehicle In Bogia Late Tuesday
September 16, 2009
The driver of a pickup truck backed over a pedestrian that she was trying to help late Tuesday night in Bogia.
The accident happened on South Pine Barren Road just north of Bogia Road about 11:10 p.m. The driver of a Ford pickup told authorities she passed a woman walking in the roadway. She said she decided to back up and see if the woman needed any help. As she backed up, the woman started crossing the road and was ran over by the pickup, authorities said.
Authorities said the woman suffered minor injuries. She was transported to West Florida Hospital by ambulance.
It was not known why the woman was walking in roadway.
The accident is still under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. No other information was available.
Pictured above: The driver of this pickup accidentally backed over a pedestrian that she was try to help late Tuesday night in Bogia. NorthEcambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
EWMS Cheerleaders Raise Money With Old Gold
September 16, 2009
Ernest Ward Middle School teacher Cynthia Wilson turned scrap gold into money in her pocket Tuesday afternoon, helping the school’s cheerleaders raise money at the same time.
Wilson and dozens of people like her sold their old and sometimes damaged jewelry during a “Gold Party” at the school. The concept was simple — show up with unwanted, broken or used gold pieces and leave with a check.
“Wow, I’m really quite surprised,” Wilson said when she received her check for almost $200. About $30 was going to her daughter for items that belonged to her, “and the reset is mine,” she said.
“It was just junk,” she said about the small pile of jewelry she sold, which even included earrings that had long since lost their match.
For every dollar paid out to those selling their gold, the EWMS cheerleaders received 10 percent. After two gold parties last week and about a half hour start on Tuesday’s party, the cheerleaders had already made about $1,000, according to Andrea Tompkins of Golden Girls, LLC., the company buying the gold.
Pictured above: Ernest Ward teacher Cynthia Wilson sells her unwanted gold to Andrea Tompkins at a Gold Party sponsored by the EWMS cheerleaders. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.