Walnut Hill Fire Dept. Traces History
November 6, 2009
Saturday marked the 40th anniversary of what has become one of the biggest events in Walnut Hill and surrounding communities — the annual fish fry at the Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department.
The fish fry has been held annually since 1969, according to Assistant Chief Kevin Mininger, who has been researching the department’s history in conjunction with the 40th annual event. The first fish fry on record was held about a month after the department was chartered.
The fire department’s first fish fry was held on Saturday, April 10, 1965, just after the Walnut Hill Fire Department was officially chartered on Monday, March 8, 1965, during a meeting held at the Ernest Ward High School.
Adult plates were sold for $1, and plates for children under 12 were 50 cents. According to minutes from the fire department’s charter meeting, the fish fry was suggested by O.D. Gibson. It was organized as a fund raiser, and “to let the community know what had been accomplished” with the new department. It was a two hour community event.
That first fish fry cost the department $87.62, including $43 for fish and $13.23 to Lawrence Cooper’s Grocery. The total income was $256.50, netting a $168.88 profit for the Walnut Hill Fire Department’s first fund raiser.
The fire department was organized by the Walnut Hill Ruritan Club, under the leadership of Ruritan President Royce Ward.
In 1968, the Walnut Hill Fire Department held an open house at their first building on November 16, 1968. The first firehouse was located under the water tower at Highway 97 and Arthur Brown Road. Before the building was completed, fire trucks and other equipment was stored in members’ sheds and barns.
According to Mininger, there are no records indicating that a fish fry was held each year between 1965 and 1968, but the fish fry events have been held annually since 1969.
The department’s first truck was about a 1957 model GMC 2 1/2 ton 4×2 fuel service truck loaned from the Florida Forest Service.
Mininger has also compiled a list of the department’s fire chiefs as follows: E. C. (Chuck) Church, 1965 to September 1966; Bob Holdeman, September 1966 to August 1968; Vern Peters from August 1968 to 1983; Jack Brown from 1983 to December 1984; Ervin Schneider, 1985 to 1987; Dennis Rigby, 1988 to 1989; Bill Jackson, 1990 to February 1991; Al Bradley, March 1991 to 1992; Robert Stewart, 1993 to September 2008; and Chris Brown October 2008 to present.
The department’s first board of directors were: C.L. Byrd, Robert E. Holdeman, Kenneth Brown, W.H. Corley, Chief E. C. Church, Assistant Chief Buddy Sharpless, Assistant Chief Therman Raines, Captain Don Strickland, Captain James Pierce, Lt. roger Johnson, Lt. Glenn Thrower, J.H. Morgan, Sam Jantz and Harvey Bradberry.
To read original fire department minutes from December 2, 1968, click here (pdf).
Pictured top: This undated photograph from the early days of the Walnut Hill Fire Department shows Robert Mininger, an assistant chief; Bob Holdeman, the department’s second chief; Royce Ward, president of the Ruritan Club; and Vern Peters who served 15 years as the department’s third chief. Pictured inset: The original handwritten minutes from the department’s first meeting. Pictured below: Former Chief Robert Stewart (left) is honored at last year’s Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department. He is being presented a framed uniform shirt by current Chief Chris Brown. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Barrineau Park Bridge To Remain Closed For At Least Two More Weeks
November 6, 2009
County officials say it will be about two more weeks before bridge work on Barrineau Park Road will be completed.
Barrineau Park Road from Jacks Branch Road to Barrineau Park School Road was closed October 16 so that repairs could be made to the the Penasula Creek Bridge which is located north of the intersection of Barrineau Park Road and Jacks Branch Road.
Sonya Daniel, Escambia County spokesperson, said Thursday that the bridge is expected to be closed for at least two more weeks.
The only detours around the closure are Chestnut Road or Highway 29 between Barrineau Park Road and Molino Road.
The closed bridge is marked with the green icon on the map below.
Commissioner Plans District 5 Town Hall Meeting
November 6, 2009
Escambia County District 5 Commissioner Kevin White will hold a town hall meeting on Tuesday, November 17 at 6:30 p.m. at the Walnut Hill Community Center at 7850 Highway 97.
The District 5 meeting will begin with comments from the commissioner and proceed into an open forum. The public is encouraged to attend and ask questions and share comments.
For more information about this meeting, contact White’s office at 595-4950
Agriscience Students Learn At Forestry Field Day (Updated With More Photos)
November 6, 2009
Agriscience students from several area schools — including Northview and Ernest Ward — had the opportunity to learn more about forestry Thursday.
Students from Northview High School, Ernest Ward Middle School, West Florida High School, Elberta Middle School and North Baldwin High School attended a Forestry Field Day at the Langley Bell 4-H Center in Pensacola.
Students attended six rotations, learning about burning basics, wildlife species in our woodlands, best management practices in wetlands, cruising and timber estimation, increment boring, species identification and forestry industries. After lunch, a Florida Division of Forestry helicopter demonstrated how to utilize water from ponds or lakes to fight fires.
A final afternoon session involved a wooded area be properly prepared to burn and then set on fire.
For more photos from the event, click here.
The educational event was offered by the Florida Division of Forestry and UF IFAS Escambia County Extension in partnership with Resource Management Services, Southeast Timberlands Management, Beulah Volunteer Fire Department, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission.
Pictured top: Agriscience students Ernest Ward Middle schools were among those attending an Forestry Field Day Thursday in Pensacola. Pictured inset: A Florida Division of Forestry helicopter demonstrates aerial firefighting. Pictured bottom: Students from Northview High School. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Molino Park Elementary Fall Carnival Is Tonight
November 6, 2009
The annual Fall Carnival will take place this evening at Molino Park Elementary School.
The carnival will take place from 4 until 8 p.m. at the school. There will be games, entertainment, bingo, informational exhibits, vendors, a health fair, pony rides and more clean, family fun. Twirlers from Escambia and Santa Rosa counties will perform, along with local teen band Empty Page.
The gift basket silent auction will also be held.
For more information, call the school at (850) 587-5265.
Barrineau Park Music Night Tonight
November 6, 2009
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 “Down Home” and “Rolling Tide”.
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.
Transformer Fire Leaves Some Customers Without Power, Phones
November 6, 2009
A transformer fire late Thursday morning left some area residents without power or phones.
The fire was reported at 11:26 a.m. on South Highway 99 at the railroad crossing near the Enon community. Firefighters arriving on scene reported a live power line down.
The transformer fire and downed power left an unknown number of Escambia River Electric customers in the dark for about an hour. A small number of Frontier Communications customers were also left without phone service after the power line shorted a portion of the telephone network in the area, according to a Frontier spokesperson.
McDavid Area Home Invasion Never Happened, Just A Misunderstanding
November 5, 2009
A home invasion reported Thursday morning in the Christian Home community near McDavid never happened — authorities say it was all a misunderstanding.
A mother and deputies learned late Thursday afternoon that the person that entered a church parsonage on North Pine Barren Road while two teen females were home alone was actually a church member.
“She had been to the church to clean the food pantry and it was locked. She checked the doors around back to see about getting in and noticed my daughter’s car home and went and banged on the door and opened the door to look in and left,” the mother of one of the victims told NorthEscambia.com late Thursday afternoon.
Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies confirmed that the incident was related to the church member, not a burglary or home invasion.
Below is an earlier Thursday morning NorthEscambia.com story about the incident.
Two female Jay High School seniors were alone in the home in the 3000 block of North Pine Barren Road when someone entered the home through a side door. There were no injuries, and nothing was taken from the home.
The mother of one victim said the girls had checked out of school in Jay with her permission to return to the home for shoes they had forgotten for a school pageant.
In an exclusive interview with NorthEscambia.com, the victims said they had just arrived at the home. One was in the kitchen getting food out of a cabinet, and the other was in a bedroom looking for the shoes. That’s when they heard a repeated forceful banging at a carport door just moments after their arrival. They ran to a bedroom and shut the door, armed with a shotgun and a knife. They heard the person or persons enter the home.
They were able to peer at a reflection on tile in a hallway to see if the suspect was approaching the bedroom, but they never saw the suspect approach. They called one of their parents on the phone, and the parent immediately called 911 at 10:04 a.m.
“I would have shot him if he’d come close to that door,” the victim said.
The victims were not injured, and nothing was reported missing from the home. Deputies confirmed that the suspect did enter the home’s kitchen area through the unlocked side door.
An Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputy responding to the call observed an older model, mud covered SUV leaving the area. Deputies were immediately put on alert to be on the lookout for the vehicle.
Deputies from the Molino area spotted the SUV and stopped it in the parking lot of the Tom Thumb at Highway 97 and Highway 29. It was driven by an adult white male and occupied by a 14-year old male Northview High School student.
The student told deputies that he had checked out of school at Northview at 9:54 a.m., just moments before the incident in Christian Home. The home is located location is about three and a half miles from school.
Deputies questioned the boy and the driver, who reportedly lives in Molino. A crime scene technician processed the GMC SUV looking for anything suspicious. They were not seen removing anything from the SUV. After being fingerprinted, they were allowed to leave the Tom Thumb. They were not charged with any crime, nor were they official named as suspects in any crime.
The persons questioned by deputies at the Tom Thumb did not meet the description given by the victims in two home invasion attacks in Molino within the last week. In both of those instances, the suspect was described as being a slender white male over six feet tall. The persons questioned at the Tom Thumb in Molino Thursday morning were not tall.
In the two Molino attacks, the suspect made contact with the victims, injuring them — one with a knife and one with broken glass. The victims in Thursday morning’s incident in Christian Home did not ever see or hear the suspect. The Molino victims are cheerleaders at Northview High School and Ernest Ward Middle School. Thursday morning’s victims attend Jay High School and are not cheerleaders. The Jay students said they do not know either of the Molino victims.
NorthEscambia.com will continue to following these developing stories and post updates as new information become available. We do not identify crime victims or their families, and we do not identify persons that have not been charged with a crime or named as a person of interest in a crime.
Pictured top and bottom: Deputies question persons at the Tom Thumb in Molino about a Thursday morning home invasion in Christian Home. They were in a vehicle matching the description of one seen leaving the area of the crime by a deputy. Pictured top inset: Crime scene technicians look for evidence at the Pine Barren Road home. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Florida Frontier Telephone Customers Experience Temporary Calling Problem
November 5, 2009
(Updated) Frontier Communications customers in the 327 and 587 exchanges lost the ability to call telephone numbers outside of the Frontier system for a short time Thursday afternoon.
Cereal Daniel, Frontier’s local manager, said the problem esd outside the Frontier network. He said AT&T worked to isolate the problem and repair it as soon as possible.
Most 327 and 587 phone exchange customers were able to call numbers in those exchanges and well as Frontier customers in Atmore. Most Molino and Walnut Hill exchange customers were unable to call Pensacola and were not be able to complete some or all long distance calls.
The problem was repaired by about 3:40 p.m. for most customers.
Investigators Continue To Probe Molino Cheerleader Attacks
November 5, 2009
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is continuing to investigate two home invasion attacks on young cheerleaders within the past week.
Wednesday, investigators to Molino to interview witnesses and the victims of with a home invasion Friday night on Highway 95A near Highway 97 and a Tuesday morning home invasion on Nancy Lane near Highland Baptist Church.
Deputies still have little information about their suspect — both victims described him as a tall, think white male dressed in all black, including a black mask. But authorities still have not publicly named a suspect. At this point, Sgt. Ted Roy, spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, said investigators have not determined if both attacks were carried out by the same person.
“There are some similarities but they still can’t confirm that they are the same suspect,” Roy told NorthEscambia.com late Wednesday afternoon. “We are continuing to follow up on leads.”
Roy said Molino area residents need to remain aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious activity, persons or vehicles to the Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office has interviewed multiple witnesses in and around Molino, and deputies have spoken to friends of both victims from Northview High School and Ernest Ward Middle School.
NorthEscambia.com has published the most complete coverage of the attacks first, and we will continue to follow this ongoing story.
To read previous stories, click a link below:
- Cheerleader Home Invasion Victim: “I Was Scared”
- Sheriff’s Report Details Friday Night’s Home Invasion
- Another Cheerleader Attacked In Second Molino Home Invasion
- Are The Two Cheerleader Home Invasion Attacks Related
- Molino Remains On High Alert After Attacks
- Home Invasion In Molino: Young Teen Cut Multiple Times With Knife