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.
Family Mourns The Loss Of Local Man Killed Tuesday By Falling Tree
September 15, 2009
Family members are mourning the loss of a Century man killed Tuesday morning by a falling tree.
Kathy Brady said her father, 69-year old Coy Otis Rhea, was struck and killed by the 40-foot tree being cut down at his rental home.
The accident was reported about 10:55 Tuesday morning at the end of Gilmore Road, a small residential road located just off Killam Road, about a half mile north of Highway 4.
“I know where he’s at,” Brady said of her father, who she described as a devout Christian man. “It’s a very big shock.”
“He was very special,” she said. “He’s a good father, very much a Christian, very much. Everybody he met loved him.”
Brady (pictured left) said her father had retired from his 30 year career working in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. He had recently moved back to Florida with his wife Esterline, 67, about a a year ago to help Brady battle cancer. She said that her father died one day before his 26th wedding anniversary.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death, with investigators and crime scene units examining the scene.
“It looks like it was an accident,” Investigator Frank Way said. He said three people were cutting the tree down, and they were not aware that Rhea was nearby. Rhea was struck and killed between two sheds near his home. Way said it was not clear if the tree or a portion of one of the sheds actually struck Rhea.
Authorities said the men were using a rope and a tractor to pull the tree away from the sheds while they used a chainsaw to cut it, but the rope broke.
“They thought he was out of the way,” Way said.
For more photos from the scene, click here.
Pictured above: When the tree in this photo was cut Tuesday morning, it struck and killed a Century man. Pictured below: Investigators at the scene. Pictured insets: Coy Otis Rhea and Kathy Brady holds the photo of her father. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Van Driver Seriously Injured In Wreck With School Bus
September 15, 2009
A Bratt man van was seriously injured in a rear end collision with a school bus on Highway 4 in Bratt Tuesday morning..
The accident happened about 6:20 a.m. near the First Baptist Church of Bratt. The impact of the crash sent the 2003 Chevrolet Venture van under the bus, lifting the back of the bus off the ground. The rear bumper of the bus traveled into the van, stopping very near the driver side headrest.
Courtney D. Gibson, 17, a senior at West Florida High School, was crossing the road in front of the bus at the time of the crash. She was knocked to the ground by the bus bumper as the bus moved forward about 21 feet following the impact. Gibson was not injured other than a scratch on her arm. She was the first stop for the bus that travels to West Florida High School.
The van driver has been identified as Jesse Warner, 36, of Bratt.
Warner was transported by ambulance to Atmore Community Hospital; LifeFlight was unable to respond due to fog. He was transferred to USA Medical Center in Mobile where he was listed in serious condition Tuesday afternoon.
The bus driver, Brenda L. Strickland, 59, of Pensacola, was not injured.
The Florida Highway Patrol report states that Warner was wearing his seat belt at the time of the crash, and that alcohol was not a factor in the accident. Warner was cited, according to the FHP, for failure to use due care and careless driving.
The FHP said the flashing lights and stop signs were activated at the time of the crash.
For a photo gallery from the scene, click here.
Pictured above and below: The driver of this van was critically injured in a collision with a school bus Tuesday morning in Bratt. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Two Suspects In Molino Store Robbery; One Arrested In Century For Burglary, Escape
September 15, 2009
Two suspects have been questioned in connection with Monday morning’s robbery of the Molino Tom Thumb; one is jailed after stealing tires for the getaway car and then trying to escape from deputies.
Antonio Demetrius Ewing, 19, of West Highway 4, Century, was charged with burglary, escape and larceny. He has not yet been charged with the robbery of the Tom Thumb; deputies say they are awaiting those warrants to be issued. He is being held in the Escambia County jail on $15,000 bond.
A second suspect, a 15-year old middle school student, has also been named as a suspect in the convenience story robbery and was questioned by deputies Monday afternoon. Warrants are expected to be issued for his arrest soon. NorthEscambia.com does not identify juveniles.
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.
While deputies were questioning Ewing about the stolen tires in Century, a deputy that was not in Century at the time realized he had read a comment on NorthEscambia.com’s story about the Tom Thumb robbery. The comment posted by someone with the name “me” mentioned a teal green Firebird with no tag being seen off the road on Sunshine Hill Road shortly after the robbery.
The deputy call Sheriff’s dispatchers on the the telephone, and dispatchers talked on the phone with deputies in Century — alerting them that they possibly had the Tom Thumb robber in custody. In the meantime, NorthEscambia.com was able to provide contact phone numbers for the poster “me” to deputies in Century. Deputies spoke to the poster’s husband in Molino, and he exactly described the car in that deputies had found in Century.
When deputies searched the location provided by the NorthEscambia.com reader on Sunshine Hill Road at Cedar Springs Road, they found part of the cash register (pictured left) from Monday morning’s robbery of the Tom Thumb, as well as parts of the vehicle where the suspects had apparently hit a stump. Money, cash register and vehicle parts were recovered at the Molino Sunshine Hill Road location.
Ewing was taken into custody and transported to the Century Precinct of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office for questioning about the tire theft and about the Tom Thumb robbery.
When deputies walked Ewing out of the Century Precinct to place him a cruiser to take him to jail, he ran. 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, and escape was added to his list of charges.
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 below: The robbery scene early Monday morning in Molino. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos, click to enlarge.
Mayor Presents Censored List Of Code Violators At Meeting
September 15, 2009
A censored list of code violators did not go over very well for Century Mayor Freddie McCall Monday afternoon.
When the Century Town Council meet to discuss code enforcement violations that have reached the point of heading to a special magistrate or abatement by the town, Mayor Freddie McCall passed out a list of the 14 violators the town had met to discuss, but he had removed names and addresses from the list.
Click here to read both the censored and uncensored list. (See editor’s note at the bottom of the story.)
“I did not want to make a public spectacle out of them,” the mayor said. “We are not hiding anything.”
“We did not want to be the cause of that information being in the paper,” Council President Ann Brooks (pictured left) told spectators that questioned why the names were not made available. “…We did that intentionally; the mayor made that decision.” During the meeting, Brooks referred to a list in her paperwork to tell an audience member that his name and address did not appear on the list.
Council member Henry Hawkins, who said he was only given the edited list by the mayor, wanted to know how he was to make a decision based upon censored information.
“I can’t made a decision on something I don’t know,” Hawkins told the mayor. The mayor told Hawkins that he could receive a complete list with names and addresses by making a public records request.
According to the mayor and council, any code violator that had been repeatedly notified to correct their violations would face a $1,300 court fee when a special magistrate hearing was set to hear their violations.
“Once they are notified for a hearing, they are going to be charged — win, lose or draw,” council member Gary Riley said of the $1,300 court fee for a magistrate hearing.
The council voted to make a complete list — with names and address — public so that they were assured that everyone that might be faced with the $1,300 in fees was notified. The council will discuss sending the listed violators to the special magistrate or taking further action prior to their September 21 council meeting.
Editor’s note: On the code violation list pdf (click here) we have edited the complete list to remove an handwritten name that appeared at the bottom of the list. The name still appears at the top of the list, and the mayor said it was written at the bottom by mistake.
Deputies Investigating Davisville Convenience Store Burglary
September 15, 2009
Two 12-packs of beer and a few sodas were reported missing after an early morning break-in at a Davisville convenience store.
Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies responded to an alarm at the Korner Kwik Stop BP gas station at 10481 Highway 97 at 3:05 a.m. Sunday. At least two suspects were recorded on the store’s surveillance video approaching the store.
Then, according to reports, they cut power to the store to disable the interior security cameras.
Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 433-STOP or the Escambia Sheriff’s Office at 436-9620.
Atmore Murder Update
September 15, 2009
The Atmore Police Department is continuing to investigate the beating death of a 51-year old man sometime over the weekend.
Michael Lee Daily was found dead in his apartment on Martin Luther King Drive in Atmore on Sunday afternoon; he had last been seen alive Friday night.
Charles Walker, Dailey’s neighbor from just a few doors down, said Daily was a very likable man, and he can’t understand why someone would want him dead.
Dailey’s sister, Glender Grissett, had become worried when she did not see or hear from Dailey in a few days. So she asked Walker to go inside his apartment to check on him.
“He was just lying there on the floor; there was a lot of blood,” he said. “I can’t know why somebody would do this. He was a very good friend.”
The Atmore Police Department has not released any information about the crime. They have not said if they have a motive, leads or a suspect in the case.
Pictured above: The scene of an apparent homicide on Martin Luther King Avenue in Atmore. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
All That Glitters: Another Gold Party At EWMS Today
September 15, 2009
After two successful and exciting days last week, the Ernest Ward Middle School cheerleaders will continue their Gold Party this afternoon.
If you have ever thought about selling your unwanted gold jewelry for cash — this is the event for you.
The Ernest Ward Middle School cheerleaders will host a Golden Girls’ Gold Party from 4:30 p.m. until the last customer is served today in the Ernest Ward gym.
According to information from the cheerleader sponsor, here is how it works:
- Find all of your, used, broken, and unwanted gold pieces. Ex. A broken earring or out of style bracelet. Anything from 10K to 24K and white gold, too. And if you discover something that you are not sure about, just bring it anyway.
- Bring your gold to a GOLDEN GIRLS’ GOLD PARTY. This is no pressure to buy anything because there is nothing to buy.
- Sell your gold to the GOLDEN GIRLS licensed gold buyer. The buyer will assess, test, and weigh your gold right in front of you. Then, they will pay you on the spot. You will actually leave this fundraiser with money in your pocket.
- Enjoy your money. Donate some of it… save it… or spend it. It’s your money so it’s up to you.
Northview Vs. Flomaton Volleyball
September 15, 2009
Both the varsity and junior varsity Flomaton Hurricanes defeated Northview on the volleyball court Monday afternoon in Flomaton.
For a photo gallery from the JV game, click here.
Flomaton def. Northview – Varsity
19-25, 24-26, 17-25
Shawna Montgomery 11th: Kills – 2, Aces-2, Block – 1, Assists – 3
Caitlin Hall 12th: Assists – 5, Aces – 2, Block – 1
Ashley Digmon 11th: Assists – 2, Aces – 2
Shaniqua Jones 11th: Kills – 5, Aces – 2, Digs – 1
Record: Overall 2 -4; District 0 -2
Flomaton def. Northview – JV
25-23, 21-25, 10-15
Trestine Dean 11th: Aces – 3, Digs – 4
Morgan Payne 9th Kills – 4, Aces – 2
Josie Doucette 10th: Kills – 2, Digs – 1
Jordan Satterwhite 9th: Digs – 2
Pictured: The Northview Junior Varsity Chiefs lost the Flomaton Hurricane Monday afternoon in Flomaton. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.