Elderly Cantonment Man Found Safe In Georgia
January 6, 2010
A missing Cantonment man suffering from Alzheimer’s has been found safe in Butler, Georgia.
George M. Brown, 75, of Cantonment was last seen about 10 a.m. Monday at a traffic light on Highway 90 in Pace near the Home Depot.
Brown’s green 1994 Ford Explorer was located a law enforcement officer in Georgia before daylight Wednesday morning. Brown was found near the vehicle.
Brown’s credit card was used at gas station in Quincy, Florida, at 7:47 p.m. Monday. The card was used again Tuesday morning to purchase gas in Wildwood, just outside Orlando on I-75. Butler, Georgia, is located near I-75 and the town of Macon.
“Brown was following his wife as they took a vehicle of theirs to a repair shop in Santa Rosa County,” according to Sgt. Scott Haines, spokesperson for the Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office. “Brown’s wife made it through the traffic light on Highway 90 in front of Home Depot, however George Brown got stopped at the light. George Brown never showed up at the repair shop and has not been seen or heard from by his family and wife.”
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement had issued a nationwide Silver Alert for Brown. A “Silver Alert” is an alert for missing seniors similar to an “Amber Alert” issued for missing children.
Pictured: This 1990 photo of George Brown is the latest picture available at this time. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Fire Departments Respond To Tom Thumb
January 6, 2010
Several are fire departments responded to the Tom Thumb on Highway 31 in Flomaton about 7:15 morning.
The store’s clerk reported smelling smoke.
When firefighters arrived, there was no smoke visible, and it was determined that the smell was coming from the building’s heating unit. No damage was discovered, but the company will reportedly have the heating unit inspected.
The store is open for business as usual.
‘Our Roads Are In Terrible Shape’ — Century Looks To Improve
January 6, 2010
Century Town Council members have decided that something needs to be done about the condition of their streets, roads and bridges.
“Our roads are in terrible shape,” Council President Ann Brooks said, adding that if the town’s employees do not have the equipment or knowledge to make road repairs, an outside contractor needs to be hired.
Each of the town’s five council members will compile a list of roads they believe need work. They will bring that list back to the council, combine it with a list already maintained by the mayor, and create a master list of bad roads.
“You need to be proactive now so you are ready when money is available,” Dale Long, the town’s engineer said, adding that the potential project list is a good idea.
“All over Century the streets are bad,” Council member Sharon Scott said.
Council member Gary Riley said that Century’s bridges also need to be inspected.
Last year, a portion of West State Line Road and Industrial Boulevard were resurfaced during 2009. The Industrial Boulevard project was funded by a settlement with a contractor that hauled debris to a dump site after Hurricane Ivan. A drainage project is currently underway on North Century Boulevard just south of the state line. North Century Boulevard (Highway 29) is a state highway.
Pictured above: West State Line Road in Century was resurfaced last year. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Escambia Murder: Woman Charged Just Hours After Body Is Found
January 6, 2010
A Pensacola woman is in jail this morning, charged with an open count of murder in Escambia County’s first homicide of the year.
Latoya Lashae Locke, 21, of Patton Drive, Pensacola, was arrested just hours after a body was found in the Navy Point area.
A landlord found the body in a small apartment behind a house in the 600 block of McCarroll Road just after 5:00 Tuesday afternoon. The body reportedly had obvious signs of foul play.
Locke was arrested less than five hours after the murder by Escambia County deputies after she was taken to the Sheriff’s Office by family members.
The victim’s name has not been released pending notification of next of kin.
Winter Weather Continues (With Updated Forecast)
January 6, 2010
Our week of winter weather continues with a low tonight around 20.
Thursday is when things get really interesting along our part of the Gulf Coast. Cold temperatures and a low pressure moving across the Gulf of Mexico may produce snow across the area. If it happens and how much remain to be seen at the this point — it may be an all rain event.
But that’s not the end of our cold — lows will be back down to about 16 Friday night and 12 Saturday night.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 20. Calm wind.
- Thursday: Rain likely, mainly after noon. Cloudy, with a high near 47. Wind chill values between 15 and 25 early. Calm wind becoming south between 10 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
- Thursday Night: A 40 percent chance of snow before midnight. Cloudy, with a low around 23. Wind chill values between 15 and 20. North wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
- Friday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 38. Wind chill values between 10 and 20. North wind between 5 and 15 mph.
- Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 16. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 40. North wind between 10 and 15 mph.
- Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 12. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 45. Northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 20. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 55.
- Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 27.
- Tuesday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 58.
- Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 31.
- Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 54.
Pictured above: An icicle covered swing set located near Barrineau Park Road and Molino Road. Submitted photo by Kristi Smith for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge. For more photos, click here.
Fire Destoys Travel Trailer
January 6, 2010
An early morning destroyed a small travel trailer near Century.
The fire was reported about 1:20 a.m. Wednesday in the 3800 block of Highway 4A. When the first firefighters arrived on scene, they reported the small pull-behind travel trailer to already be destroyed. The travel trailer was near a shed, but the shed was not threatened.
There were no injuries. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Heaters, Donations Roll In; More Help Need For The Elderly
January 6, 2010
When the call went out for heaters and other donations to help the elderly stay warm during our unseasonably cold weather, the public responded in a big way. But the Council on Aging of West Florida still needs more help.
About 80 heaters, 30 blankets and $1,000 had been donated by late afternoon Tuesday.
“Thank goodness it has kind of balanced itself out between the number of heaters and the number of calls for help,” said Jeff Nall, vice president of marking and communications for the Council on Aging. “So far we have been able to help everyone that called, but we need to be proactive rather than reactive. The need is still there for more donations because the phones are still ringing. It has just been crazy.”
NorthEscambia.com, and WEAR 3 ran stories about the Council on Aging’s need for donations, and that, according to Nall, prompted the public to act.
“It also got a lot of elderly people to think they have made it before just fine, but we are talking about weather that is colder than we usually have lasting for a much longer period of time,” he said. “They might say “It’s been cold before, and I’ve made it a few days,” but it is so much different this time.”
Many times, Nall said, needy seniors will find alternative and unsafe means to get any kind of heat in their homes.
“They will sometimes try to heat the house with their oven,” he said. “I’ve seen flames coming out of an oven before. People need to know that heating with a stove or oven is unsafe.”
Heaters and blankets can be dropped off at any location of Council on Aging of West Florida, including 6025 Industrial Boulevard In Century from 8:30 a.m. until noon and 132 Mintz Lane in Cantonment from 9:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. Only new items can be accepted.
Financial donations can be sent to Council on Aging of West Florida, PO Box 17066, Pensacola, FL 32522-7066 or made online at www.coawfla.org.
Seniors in need of a heater, blanket or other assistance should call (850) 432-1475.
Alabama And Florida Residents Can Apply For Disaster Assistance In Atmore
January 6, 2010
Applications are being accepted in person today through Saturday at the Atmore Library for federal disaster assistance following the mid-December floods. Assistance is available to residents and business owners in Escambia County, Alabama, and Escambia and Santa Rosa counties in Florida.
A disaster area declaration by the U.S. Small Business Administration following December’s floods is making federal assistance available to seven counties in Alabama and Florida.
Assistance in the form of low interest loans is available to homeowners, renters and businesses that were affected by the flooding between December 12 and December 18. Loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for loans up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property. Businesses and non-profit organizations can borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory, and other business assets.”
The SBA also provides mitigation funds to disaster victims up to 20 percent of the verified physical damage. These funds are designed to help borrowers pay for protective measures to minimize damages of the same kind in the future.
For small businesses, and most private non-profit organizations of all sizes, the SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster. EIDL assistance is available regardless of whether the business suffered any physical property damage.
Interest rates are as low as 2.562 percent for homeowners and renters, four percent for businesses and three percent for non-profit organizations with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition.
“The SBA is strongly committed to providing the people affected by these storms and floods with the most effective and customer-focused response possible, to assist homeowners, renters, and businesses of all sizes with federal disaster loans,” said SBA Administrator Karen G. Mills. “Getting our businesses and communities up and running after a disaster is our highest priority.”
Disaster Loan Outreach Centers will be open as follows:
- Atmore Public Library: Today – Friday, January 8 from 8:30 am to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday, January 9 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Escambia County Courthouse, Brewton: Monday, January 11 and Tuesday, January 12 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Individuals and businesses unable to visit one of the centers in person may obtain information and loan applications by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8339 for the hearing impaired), Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST, or by sending an e-mail to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Business loan applications can also be downloaded from the SBA Web site at www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance. Completed applications should be returned to one of the Centers or mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
For more information, click here for a SBA fact sheet.
The disaster declaration covers Escambia County (Ala.) and the adjacent counties of Baldwin, Conecuh, Covington and Monroe in Alabama; and the counties of Escambia, Okaloosa and Santa Rosa in Florida.
NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Century Resident Arrested On Drug Charges
January 6, 2010
A Century man was arrested at a local car wash for drug possession, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving without a license.
According to Escambia County deputies, Eric James Grimes, 19, of Highway 168 Century, was in a stall at a car wash on North Century Boulevard at 12:38 a.m. Deputy Scott Rivkin said in his report that he observed Grimes exit his 1999 Mercury Sable. When he approached him, Grimes acted surprised. He reportedly told Rivkin that he did not have a driver’s license. Grimes was observed placing something on the ground.
Deputies found a cigar box that tested positive for methamphetamine. They also located a glass smoking pipe with marijuana residue, and a digital scale. Deputies also found a .270-caliber rifle and scope in addition to eight rounds of .270 ammunition in Grimes’ trunk.
Grimes was released from the Escambia County Jail on $3,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court later this month.
High School Basketball: Tate, Flomaton, Jay
January 6, 2010
Escambia Academy’s girls came out strong and never looked back against Monroe Academy on Tuesday. The varsity team beat Monroe 71-19, and the EA JV team was victorious 40-9.
BOYS — VARSITY
Escambia Charter 58 Jay 45
Jay lost a non-district game to Escambia Charter 58-45.
Jay — D. Walker 5, Luke Rowel 4, Hunter Boutwell 8, Fisher 10, Conner Weekes 1, Steven Brabham 6, Tyler Prescott 10, Todd Langley 1.
Jay 12 9 12 12-45
Flomaton 59 Mobile Christian 48
The Flomaton Hurricanes picked up a home win against Mobile Christian.
Flomaton — Alex Bradley 5, Austin Patterson 8, Ryheem Dixon 14, Tee Mitchell 15, Ta-Ta Ellis 17.
Flomaton 12 11 20 16-59 13 10 8 17-48
Tate 77 Pine Forest 74
The Tate Aggies slipped past the Eagles of Pine Forest 77-74.
Tate — Jabrille Rasheed 1, Petey Jones 21, Spencer Tayhlor 1, Chris Walden 4, Tevin Brown 15, Dylan Anderson 16, Shamone Jones 13, Adam Stump 8, Whitmey Richardson 2.
Tate 12 17 18 30-77 Pine Forest 16 14 15 29-74
Escambia Academy 64 Pickens Academy 51
In recent boys basketball action, the Escambia Academy Cougars beat the Pickens Pirates, 64-51. The Cougars were led by Keaton Maher with 23 points and 15 rebounds.
Escambia Academy — Michael Hippa 12, James White 7, Nate Smith 4, Keaton Maher 23, Darron McGhee 7, Brandon Goddard 5, Tanner Kirk 6.
GIRLS — VARSITY
Pine Forest 65 Tate 40
Pine Forest handed a home loss to Tate in a district game. Chelsea Hall led scoring for the Aggies with 14.
Tate — Chelsea Hall 14, Meghan Briske 12, Courtney Brown 7, Marinna Cobbs 4, Avery Cobb 3.
Tate 5 4 18 13-40 Pine Forest 13 22 16 14-65
Escambia Academy 71 Monroe Academy 19
The Escambia Academy girls slammed Monroe Academy Tuesday. EA had a 24-0 lead at the end of the first, and held Monroe to just four points in the first half for a 42-4 lead headed into the third period. Amber Huskey had 15 points, and Jordan Jaye had 11. Every player on the EA roster had points on the board.
Escambia — Amber Huskey 15, Jordan Jaye 11, Lacie Flowers 8, KayLeigh Miller 8, Kristen Matthews 6, Rachel Fuller 6, Taylor Helton 4, Samantha Lee 4, Grayson Emmons 6, Lulu McGhee 2, Paige Allen 2, Page Lancaster 2.
Escambia 24 18 20 12-74 Monroe 0 4 9 6-19
Pickens Academy 50 Escambia Academy 41
In recent girls high school varsity basketball action Saturday, Pickens downed Escambia Academy 50-41. The Cougars were paced by Jordan Jaye with 12 and Amber Huskey with 10.
Escambia — Jordan Jaye 12, Amber Huskey 10, KayLeigh Miller 3, Taylor Helton 4, Carlie Broughton 4, Rachel Fuller 4.
Escambia 13 6 7 15-41 Pickens 13 6 7 15-41
GIRLS — JV
Escambia Academy 40 Monroe Academy 9
The JV Escambia Academy Cougars beat Monroe Academy 40-9 Tuesday. Grayson Emmons led the Cougars with 16 points.
Escambia — Grayson Emmons 16, Lacie Flowers 8, Peyton Snider 6, Clare Dawe 2, Brooke McGhee 2, Paige Allen 2, Lulu McGhee 2, Page Lancaster 2.
Escambia 10 12 14 4-40 Monroe 2 4 1 2-9