Local Preacher And His Son In Horror Movie ‘The Final Destination’
December 27, 2009
A local father and son got a taste of Hollywood with parts as extras in the movie “The Final Destination” — the number one movie in the country for two weeks during 2009.
Douglas Coburn and his son Bryan Coburn were in scenes filmed in May 2008 at the Mobile International Speedway –known as the McKinley Speedway in the movie. In the speedway scenes in the horror movie, there’s plenty of death, with grandstands collapsing, plenty of fire and car parts flying toward fans. Fans that have seen the previous three Final Destination movies knew that was only the beginning.
Bryan Coburn of Byrneville attended Pensacola Junior College on a drama scholarship, so a chance to be an extra in a major Hollywood production was a natural fit for him. Dad Doug was just a long for the ride when Byran auditioned, but movie producers thought Doug would be a natural in the movie as a car owner. Bryan was cast as a pit crew member for another race team.
“They told me I was the type they were looking for,” Doug said. “Then I thought ‘what business do I have being in horror movie?’.”
Doug is a minister that currently describes himself as being “in between churches”. He is currently in the men’s ministry at the First Baptist Church of Flomaton. He knew that R-rated horror movies were not exactly the place you would usually find a preacher.
“It is a horror movie and I am a pastor, so when they asked me to play the part of a race car owner I thought maybe God was opening a door for me to minister to the people on the set,” he said adding “Jesus often went where the lost were.”
Their days of filming were long with scenes that would last for just a few minutes followed by hours of waiting for the next scene to be set up and stunts staged. Flipping race cars down the track and blowing them up is, he said, not as easy as one might think.
It was during a lunch break on the third day that Doug says he figured out why a preacher was on the set of a major horror movie.
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“When this security guard found out I am a preacher, he wanted to know about Christ,” Doug said. “I was able to lead him to Christ.”
While the Coburn’s screen time might be short — the race scenes in the movie are very fast-paced — Pastor Doug says he would love the chance to be in another big movie.
“I would love it; there’s plenty of drama in our family,” he said. “I enjoyed taking part in the movie, and I enjoyed seeing that side of how they do things behind the camera.”
“And,” he admits, “I liked seeing how they flipped and exploded cars.”
The Final Destination landed at number one its opening weekend in August, grossing $28.3 million. The movie was at number one again the following week, making $50.4 million total take in 10 days. During 2009, the movie grossed over $183 million worldwide.
The Final Destination is scheduled to be released on DVD and Blu-ray on January 5, 2010. The movie is rated R for strong violence and gruesome accidents, language and a scene of sexuality.
Pictured top: Douglas Coburn (right) and his son Bryan Coburn on the set of The Final Destination in Mobile. Pictured middle: Douglas Coburn (in the staw hat) with a pit crew from the opening scene of the movie. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century Man Charged With DUI Following Christmas Crash
December 27, 2009
A Century man was arrested on a DUI charge after a Christmas night crash in Century.
Troy Owens Graham, 24, was charged with driving under the influence and causing property damage by the Florida Highway Patrol following a single vehicle accident near Tedder Road and Highway 29.
Graham was released from the Escambia County Jail on $500 bond.
Alabama, Florida Congressmen’s Statements On Health Care Bill
December 27, 2009
Senate Democrats passed the landmark health care bill on Christmas Eve that could mean almost-universal medical coverage to all Americans.
The 60-39 vote along party lines ended months of negotiations and 24 days of debate on the Senate floor. The “yes” votes were from 58 Democrats and two independents, while there was a unanimous “no” vote from Republicans.
Before universal health care can be signed into law by President Obama, the House and Senate must reach a compromise between different bills passed in each chamber. Once signed, the bill would provide health care coverage. to another 30 million Americans.
Congressman Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) issued the following statement on the Senate’s passage of their version of the Health Care Bill:
“I am deeply saddened that during this season of renewal, the Senate Democrats chose to ignore the will of the American people and pass a Trillion dollar government takeover of health care. This bill does nothing to reduce the cost of care for working American families, and it opens the door for federally funded abortions. The bill was passed on Christmas Eve with votes bought with backroom deals and election year boondoggles — all paid for by hard working families. The only thing new in this legislation is $518 Billion in new taxes.
The American people deserve better than this and I will work to prevent this legislation from becoming law. I will be holding a series of town hall meetings the first week of January to hear the many concerns of Northwest Floridians about this legislation and to enlist their help to defeat it.”
U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) issued the following statement regarding Senate passage of Democrats’ health care legislation by a party-line vote of 60-39:
“This legislation is an abomination in process and substance,” said Shelby. “Conceived behind closed doors and hastily rushed through the Senate in partisan fashion, it is nearly 3,000 pages of ‘reform’ the American people do not want or need, and have not been given time to examine.
“It dramatically increases the federal government’s role in our personal medical decision making. It contains weak and unacceptable protections for taxpayers who do not want their hard-earned money used to fund abortions. It raises taxes during a recession when one of every ten Americans is out of work. It drastically cuts Medicare for our seniors and, instead of applying these funds to make Medicare more solvent or reduce the federal deficit, it uses them to fund yet another new government entitlement. It requires Americans to purchase insurance and significantly penalizes those who do not. It raises the Medicaid burden on states when they cannot even afford the burden they already bear. In spite of what Democrat leaders tell us, it will also dramatically increase the federal deficit.
“Simply stated, this legislation will spend huge amounts of money that we do not have to empower the federal government to ration, and therefore decrease the quality of, our nation’s medical services. We had before us the opportunity to build upon the best health care system in the world. The Democrats’ legislation does the opposite. This is a day our nation will long regret.”
County To Conduct Survey; 2009 Showed North Escambia Concerns
December 27, 2009
A survey will begin in early January in Escambia County to give residents a chance to voice their opinions about living in the county.
The Listener Group will conduct the third annual county-wide telephone survey for the Escambia County Commission to give a selected residents the chance to provide their input regarding services received and the quality of life in Escambia County. The marketing company will systematically call residents in each of the five commission districts until 100 people in each district have complete the survey.
The 2009 county-wide survey showed the concerns of North Escambia residents.
When asked, “how satisfied are you with the overall quality of the job that the County is doing”, 91.6% of the residents responded with a neutral to very satisfied rating. The highest ratings when to fire services, emergency medical services and hurricane preparedness.
The county’s lowest ratings were to questions about the county is responsive to complaints, public transportation and mosquito control.
There were 538 randomly chosen registered voters in the county that took part in the telephone survey. Several of their answers revealed common concerns about the quality of life and the concerns in North Escambia.
Comments related to North Escambia included:
- I am from Molino in the northern part of he county and we have a lot of residential, but we need more economic development to balance it out. Managing growth is very important.
- We live in the north end of the county. We don’t get much in the way of services. We’re like the step-children. Because we live in a rural area, we’re not heard as much as the rest of the county.
- We have a pretty safe neighborhood here and law enforcement does come by here. I don’t think they have enough law enforcement in the north end of the county.
- A hospital in Century, closest one is Pace
- Downsize public bus that runs from Pensacola to Century
- The amount of services where I live in Molino have been cut. There used to be a bus service out here. If someone didn’t have a car, they couldn’t get out of town. — Our
fire service is volunteer.– People are leaving Molino in droves. - I live in a rural area in Molino that is not densely populated. I feel we are neglected & our tax dollars s/b more useful. I was glad to see that recycling has been implemented out here. I live on a dirt road & for 3 to 5 years we have been promised that it would be paved. The last I heard this was in the planning stages, which could take another 5 years.
- On hurricane response: In our area, North of Hwy 29, we always have a slow response. They don’t bring out meals, for example because we’re not in the ‘disaster area’, & I thought that was really stupid!
- I live out in the northern part of the County. During Ivan, the ice ran out. I don’t think they were ready overall, for the devastation of Opal and Erin, at first, but they got better.
- I live in the most northern part of the county, and we’re the last ones to get any kind of service. But I understand that.
- Top 3 things: 1) Growth to move north of 9 mile road 2) Incentives to help improve north end of the county 3) keep police/sheriff offices open for north end
- Top 3 things: 1) road improvements 2) stop closing the schools in the north end 3) more efficient building codes in the north end
- Discontinue: I do not want them to do garbage pickup in the north end of the county. I like Allied Waste much better, and the County should let them compete.
Sheila Loretta Johnson
December 26, 2009
Sheila Loretta Johnson, age 61 of Cantonment, FL passed away suddenly on Thursday, December 24, 2009 in a local hospital.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Athan Meacham and Voncile White Huggins.
Sheila is survived by her loving husband of 16 years, Donald Johnson; a son and daughter-in-law, Mike and Jackie Fox; two daughters and sons-in-law, Angie and Allen Butler and Melissa Brucker; three grandchildren, Britny, Kalynn and Kameron; other relatives and many friends.
Funeral Services will be at 1:00 p.m., Tuesday, December 29 at Faith Chapel Funeral Home South.
Interment will follow at Oak Grove Cemetery, Walnut Hill, FL.
FAITH CHAPEL FUNERAL HOME SOUTH, 100 Beverly Parkway, is in charge of arrangements.
The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Monday, December 28 from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m.
Flood Warning Continues For Escambia River
December 26, 2009
The Flood Warning continues for the Escambia River near Century until Thursday afternoon.
At 5 p.m. Saturday, the stage was 19.4 feet. Minor flooding is occurring and minor flooding is forecast. Flood stage is 17.0 feet.
The river will continue to fall to below flood stage by late Thursday morning.
Federal Disaster Area Declared Due To 2009’s Heavy Rain
December 26, 2009
Farmers in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties in Florida and every Alabama county are eligible for federal disaster assistance due to the heavy rains and floods that damaged crops during 2009.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated 66 Alabama counties as primary natural disaster areas due to excessive rain, flooding and flash flooding that occurred throughout 2009.
The designation covers every county in the Alabama with the exception of Coosa County; however, Coosa County also will be eligible for natural disaster assistance since it is named as a contiguous county for this disaster. Farmers in every county that borders Alabama — including Escambia and Santa Rosa in Florida — also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are adjacent to the declared disaster area.
“President Obama and I understand these conditions caused severe damage to the area and serious harm to farms in Alabama and we want to help,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “This action will provide help to hundreds of farmers who suffered significant production losses to a wide variety of crops, including field crops, pasture, forage, vegetables, fruit and nuts.”
Qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for low interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses.
FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. FSA has variety of programs, in addition to the EM loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity.
Pictured top: Wet cotton sags to the ground in a Walnut Hill field following rains from Tropical Storm Ida. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Salvation Army’s Red Kettles Come Up Short
December 26, 2009
Preliminary numbers show that the Salvation Army’s red kettle campaign was about $50,000 shy of its Christmas goal.
It was hoped that the Escambia and Santa Rosa campaign would generate $300,000 by Christmas Eve. Instead, the campaign brought in about $250,000 for winter programs, including Christmas gifts and utility bill assistance for needy residents in the two-county area.
The Christmas Eve total for donations in the two counties was about $3,000, down from a normal $8,000 to $10,000.
While the Salvation Army’s red kettles are normally gone after Christmas, local organizers said they may extend the campaign until New Year’s Eve.
Dollar Figure Released On Escambia Road Damage From Floods
December 26, 2009
Preliminary numbers are in…roads in Escambia County, Fla. suffered $25,000 in damage from mid-December floods.
The Escambia County Road department spent $8,000 fixing potholes and other paved road damage and another $17,000 repairing dirt roads. Dirt road repairs included grading and hauling hundreds of loads of dirt to replace washouts.
Escambia County will foot the bill for the repairs; the county did not suffer enough public infrastructure damage for the federal or state government to step in with assistance.
Pictured above: Flood damage on Greenland Road. Pictured below: A flooded Occie Phillips Road. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Partly Sunny On Sunday, Rain By Wednesday
December 26, 2009
Our weather looks dry until Wednesday when a good chance of showers creeps back into our forecast.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 34. Calm wind.
- Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 58. Calm wind becoming north between 5 and 10 mph.
- Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 31. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph.
- Monday: Sunny, with a high near 52. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Monday Night: Clear, with a low around 25. North wind around 5 mph.
- Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 56. North wind around 5 mph.
- Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 36. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph.
- Wednesday: Showers likely. Cloudy, with a high near 56. East wind between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
- Wednesday Night: Showers likely. Cloudy, with a low around 42. Southeast wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
- Thursday: A 50 percent chance of showers. Cloudy, with a high near 58.
- Thursday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 36.
- New Year’s Day: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 53.
- Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 26.
- Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 50.