Bull Bash Ticket Winners Named

September 4, 2009

Bull BashFour lucky people are headed to Saturday night’s Bull Bash Blowout in Flomaton, courtesy of NorthEscambia.com and the Tri-Cities Rotary Club.

Tri Cities Rotary Club, MK Farm and Rafter L Farm will present the second annual Bull Bash Blowout Saturday with a live concert from Middle Ground. Gates will open at 5:30 p.m., entertainment starts at 7:00 and the bull riding starts at 8 p.m. at Highway 31 and Highway 113 in Flomaton. Adult tickets are $12, student tickets are $7 and kids under five will be admitted free. Some seating will be provided, but spectators are encouraged to bring a lawn chair.

Bull Bash ticket winners are:

  • Tracy James, Jay
  • Cassie Cufr, Century
  • Kristina Wood, Flomaton
  • Tiffany Johnson, Flomaton

Some of the top bull riders from the Southeast will be on hand Saturday night to ride some of the meanest bulls the South has to offer, according to event organizers.

Concessions including hot dogs, hamburgers, BBQ and all the fixings will be available. For football fans, there will also be a big screen TV and satellite to watch the college games.

For more information, call (251) 363-9805, (251) 446-7472 or (251) 236-1100.

Vendors are also welcome. Call (251) 236-1100 for more information. Vendors must furnish their own electricity.

The Tri-City Rotary Club’s membership area includes Flomaton, Century and Jay.

Winners release NorthEscambia.com of all liability associated with entering or winning this contest. Email addresses will be used only to notify winners. Winners receive one adult ticket each.

Monthly Barrineau Park Music Night Is Tonight

September 4, 2009

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There’s some good entertainment on stage tonight in Barrineau Park — and it’s free.

The monthly Barrineau Park Music Night will be tonight at the Barrineau Park Community Center. The featured groups tonight are “Joyful Sound” and “TruGrass”.

The singing starts at 7 p.m. and is free. Food and refreshments will also be available beginning at 6 p.m.

The event is family-friendly — no alcohol is permitted on the property, and no smoking is allowed in or near the building.

For more information, call (850) 587-5575.

The Barrineau Park Community Center is located on Barrineau Park School road, about three miles west of Molino.

Pictured: TruGrass (top) and Joyful Sounds (below) will perform at the monthly Barrineau Park Music Night tonight. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

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No Ernest Ward Football Tonight

September 3, 2009

A reminder — tonight’s football season opener for the Ernest Ward Middle School Eagles against Perdido was been canceled.

School officials said Perdido canceled the game because the school did not have enough players for a team.

The Eagles will open their season Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. on the road in Excel.

RV Bus Destroyed By Fire (With Photo Gallery)

September 3, 2009

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Fire destroyed an Allegro Bus motor home on Highway 113 north of Flomaton Thursday afternoon.

The driver of the Allegro Bus pulled over on the southbound side of Highway 113 at  Old Sardine Road, about one and half miles north of Highway 31. The vehicle was quickly engulfed in flames, with smoke visible from miles away in Century. The driver of the motor home was not injured, and he managed to disconnect and save a vehicle that was being pulled by the RV. The fire was reported about 1:30 Thursday afternoon.

Traffic on Highway 113 southbound was backed up and blocked for about half an hour due to the fire.

Fire units from Flomaton, Friendship, Lambeth and Century responded to the blaze.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Click here for a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery from the scene.

Pictured above: A firefighter works to extinguish hot spots in the motor home. Picture below: This Allegro Bus RV was destroyed by fire Thursday afternoon north of Flomaton. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

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Rivkin Admits Guilt In DUI Death Of Bicyclist

September 3, 2009

Christina Rae Rivkin pleaded guilty this morning to being drunk when she struck and killed a bicyclist before fleeing the scene back in June.

When Rivkin hit and killed Steele on June 10, her blood alcohol level was more than three and a half times the legal limit, according to  the Florida Highway Patrol. The FHP sayid Rivkin’s blood alcohol levels tested at .297 and .295. The legal limit in Florida is .08. The FHP said Rivkin was so drunk that she did not know her own name when she hit the bicyclist. She left the scene, and nearly hit a deputy’s cruiser when she returned about an hour later.

The Florida Highway Patrol said Rivkin was traveling westbound on Nine Mile Road when she crossed the white line near Brewster Street and struck Steele as he was riding his bicycle about 11:15 p.m.. Troopers said Steele and his bicycle were dragged under Rivkin’s GMC Yukon for about a quarter of a mile. Rivkin then fled the scene.

A passerby called 911 after discovering the body in the roadway. About an hour later, Rivkin returned to the scene, where she “skidded to an abrupt stop nearly striking the patrol car of Deputy Mark Smith,” the FHP report said. She “appeared extremely intoxicated. She smelled strongly of alcoholic beverage and her speech was slurred. She could not walk without assistance. (She) could not remember her name or say where she was,” the report continued.

Rivkin, according to the FHP, refused to perform a breath test, and a blood sample was taken to determine her blood alcohol level.

“He jumped out in front of me. What was I suppose to do?” Rivkin told a trooper at the scene.

The FHP says that the front of Rivkin’s vehicle had damage consistent with hitting the bicyclist, and “there appeared to be blood on the front of her vehicle.”

Rivkin had at least two prior DUI arrests and five other moving violations, according to the FHP.

Steele was riding his bicycle to work as part of the stock crew at the Nine Mile Road Winn Dixie when the accident occurred, according to family members. Steele and his wife, Brittney, 20, only owned one car, and family members said he wanted his wife to have the car for her morning commute. He rode the bicycle so that she did not have to drive him to work so that she would be well rested for her job.

$10 Youth Sports Fee Won’t Pass Commission

September 3, 2009

Escambia commissioners Kevin White and Wilson Robertson both say they will not vote to support a $10 per child, per youth sport fee. With only four commissioners expected at tonight’s commission meeting, the so-called “kiddie-tax” is expected to fail.

Commissioner Gene Valentino is not expected to be at tonight’s commission meeting due to a death in his family. With two of four commissioners voting against the plan, it will fail. Commissioners Marie Young and Grover Robinson did not indicate how they plan to vote at tonight’s meeting.

Both commissioners made their comments against the $10 youth sports fee at this morning’s Escambia County Commission agenda review session.

For more on the proposal, click here for a Tuesday NorthEscambia.com story.

For a NorthEscambia.com blog where we spoke out against the proposal, click here.

Major Pensacola Road Open Again After Train Derailment

September 3, 2009

A major Pensacola road is open again after being shutdown most of Thursday morning due to a train derailment.

Airport Road between Old Palafox and Rawson and St. John Street  were closed because of train cars across the roadway.

“Two engines have derailed inside the Golden Yard and the length of the train has blocked these two intersections,” Sonya Daniel, Escambia County spokesperson said shortly after Thursday morning’s derailment..

There were no injuries in the derailment.

Erika Weakens To Depression Status

September 3, 2009

(Updated 4 p.m.)  Erika has weakened to a a tropical depression, and the storm is not expected to regain tropical storm strength during the next five days.

The center of Tropical Depression Erika was located near latitude 16.7 north, longitude 65.3 west or about 130 miles south-southeast of San Juan Puerto Rico and about 325 miles east-southeast of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.

The depression is moving toward the west-northwest near 12 mph. A turn toward the west-northwest is expected tonight, and this motion is expected to continue until dissipation. On the forecast track, Erika or its remnants are expected to pass south of Puerto Rico tonight and be near or over Hispaniola on Friday.

Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph with higher gusts. Some weakening is forecast in the next 24 hours and Erika is expected to become a remnant low on Friday. Erika could also degenerate into a tropical wave at any time.

Labor Of Love: Friends Helping Molino Woman Fight Cancer

September 3, 2009

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Recently, doctors told Sonja Luker of Molino to prepare for the end because, once again, chemotherapy and radiation were unable to destroy all of the cancer cells attacking her body. As Sonja tried to come to terms with the devastating news, she began to wonder how she will tell her children that she will not live long enough to see them marry, how she would tell her parents that she would probably die before them.

But then there was a glimmer of hope that has turned into a real promise. A doctor at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas is convinced that he can trick her body genetically, preventing tumors from forming.

Now Sonja’s friends are working together to help her and her husband Chris afford the treatment she needs. The couple has insurance, but it will not cover all of the expenses for the Texas treatments. They couple has also exhausted their life savings.

Her friends have organized a 75-mile Labor Day motorcycle ride to benefit Sonja. The ride (detailed at the bottom of this story) will start Monday at the Alabama Wing House in Atmore. For the friends, it’s a labor of love.

sonja10.jpgThat’s because Sonja has given so much to the community over the past several years. She’s the person behind the annual Molino Christmas Parade. She has served tirelessly for years on the board of directors for the Molino Recreation Association. Relay for Life, Special Olympics…the list just goes on and on.  Helping the communities of North Escambia has been her calling.

“I’m a little overwhelmed by all of the people that want to help me,” Sonja said. “I would rather give than receive. I have the most amazing friends in the world.”

Sonja was first diagnosed with cancer about five years ago when her son was senior in high school. Her son Timothy is now 22 and daughter Samantha is 21.

“All I did was pray for God to let me see my children graduate,” she said. “I got my miracle.”

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For Sonja, there’s always someone that needs help more than she does.

“I do what I do because I like to help,” she  said. “There is always somebody worse that I am.”

And that’s one of her goals. She plans, and fully intends, for her Texas treatment to work. She, of course, wants the treatment to work so she can be with her family and friends. But she also wants to get fully back into helping others.

“I am going to be around to work on my causes,” she said. “I’m ready to get out there and help raise money for causes that need it.”

She’s already making plans for this year’s Molino Christmas Parade, and she is looking forward to helping with next year’s ball season. “Any I want to make sure that everybody gets involved with Relay for Life,” she said. “It if were not for the cancer research money provided by Relay for Life, I would have not a chance right now in my fight. I would have no hope if it were not for Relay for Life.”

The Labor Day 75-mile motorcycle ride for Sonja Luker will take place Monday. Registration will be at 9 a.m. at the Alabama Wing House at 124 Lindberg Avenue in Atmore. The ride will begin at 11 a.m. The ride is $20 per bike, $25 for two riders. There is a $5 entry fee for a bike competition, and a $20 entry fee to a car show. The event will also feature life music, food and fun activities for the whole family. For more information, contact Jessica at (850) 418-4848 or Pam at (850) 712-6267.

Pictured top and bottom: Sonja Luker with her husband Chris. Pictured middle: Sonja (far right) at this year’s Relay for Life at Tate High School. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Disaster Pet Shelters Now Available In Escambia And Santa Rosa

September 3, 2009

In the event of a hurricane or other disaster, residents of both Escambia and Santa Rosa counties now have a pet friendly shelter available.

A pet friendly shelter in Milton was announced Wednesday in Santa Rosa County. A similar shelter was announced in July at Molino Park Elementary School for residents of Escambia County.

The Santa Rosa shelter is located at Avalon Middle School at 5445 King Arthurs Way in Milton. Pre-registration for the pet friendly shelter in Santa Rosa County is required and available online by clicking here. Those without home Internet access are encouraged to use the computer resources at any of the five county libraries or a paper application can be picked up in Milton at animal services located at 4451 Pine Forest Road and cooperative extension service on 6263 Dogwood Drive, or the Santa Rosa County Southside Service Center located at 5841 Gulf Breeze Parkway.

The Escambia County pet friendly shelter is located at Molino Park Elementary School at 899 Highway 97 in Molino. Pre-registration is required. For more information and registration information for the shelter, click here. Registration information is also available from  the Escambia County Animal Shelter, 200 West Fairfield Drive in Pensacola.

Both shelters are limited to dogs and cats only. The animals must have current proof of vaccinations. Pet owners must stay at the shelters with their animals in order to care for their own pets.

Both shelters are considered “last resort” shelters — both counties encourage persons evacuating with their pets to first seek a pet friendly hotel or a place to say with family or friends if possible.

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