Spring Break Travel More Expensive This Year
March 29, 2010
Spring Break travel will cost more this year than last for those hitting the highway.
The average cost for a gallon of regular unleaded in the Pensacola area is $2.81, up from $2.01 a year ago. Gas prices in the North Escambia area were generally in the $2.77 to $2.79 range.
The lowest price in the Pensacola area Sunday night was $2.69 at Sam’s Club on Airport Boulevard, the second lowest priced station in the state according to www.floridastategasprices.com.
Pictured above: A gas delivery at a Century station. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Cooler Tonight; Around 80 By Late Week
March 29, 2010
We have a few cool nights in store, but temperatures will warm as our week continues. By late week, we’ll have highs around the 80 degree mark. It will be a sunny week, with no mention of rain until Sunday.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 41. Northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 71. Calm wind becoming west between 5 and 10 mph.
- Tuesday Night: Clear, with a low around 39. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 76. Calm wind becoming south between 5 and 10 mph.
- Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 42. South wind between 5 and 10 mph becoming calm.
- Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 79. Calm wind becoming south between 5 and 10 mph.
- Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 46. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Friday: Sunny, with a high near 80. Calm wind becoming south between 5 and 10 mph.
- Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 56. South wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Saturday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 81.
- Saturday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56.
- Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 76.
- Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 51.
- Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 76.
Margherita Swift Jones
March 28, 2010
Margherita Swift Jones, 93, of Century, Florida, died March 25, 2010. A native of Mobile, she grew up in Atmore, Alabama, and was a resident of Century for over 64 years.
She was preceded in death by her parents, George Robinson Swift and Margherita Ligon Swift; her husband of 56 years, Carl Eugene Jones; her sister, Susan Swift Norman; and her brother, George Robinson Swift, Jr.
Graduating from the University of Alabama in 1938, she achieved academic honors and was named Honorary Brigade Cadet Colonel for the Army ROTC. She recently received her 75 year membership pin from Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority.
Survivors include her children, Carl Eugene Jones, Jr. (Ann) of Birmingham, Margherita Jones Soule of Pensacola, and James Robin Jones (Betty) of Flomaton; seven grandchildren; Carl Eugene Jones, III (Laura), Arlene Jones Sevy (Eric), Margherita Soule Eligator (David), Saranne Ligon Soule, Elizabeth Jones Hemby (Mark), Robin Houston Jones (Amanda), Andrew Luten Jones (Beth) and twelve greatgrandchildren.
Margherita Jones gave generously of her time as a volunteer to the community working with groups including the Flomaton Research Club, Alger-Sullivan Historical Society, local schools, Turtle Point Environmental Center, Century Memory Loss Support Group, and Daughters of the American Revolution. She was named Century’s Outstanding Citizen of the Year in 2003.
She was also an active and faithful participant in several churches over the years, including Trinity Episcopal Church, Atmore, Holy Spirit Episcopal Church, Gulf Shores, Alabama, and Century United Methodist Church. With grace she provided happiness and a generous loving Christian spirit to her family and friends.
Graveside services were held at the Flomaton Cemetery in Flomaton, Alabama, on, Sunday, March 28, 2010 at 2 p.m. with the Rev. Janet K. Lee and the Rev. John W. Phillips officiating. Visitation was held at the Century United Methodist Church on Saturday, March 27, 2010 from 6 until 8 pm.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Flomaton Cemetery Perpetual Care Trust Fund, PO Box 601, Flomaton, AL 36441; or Covenant Hospice, 5907 Berryhill Road, Milton, FL 32570; or the Century United Methodist Church, PO Box 245, Century, FL 32535.
Kitchen Fire In Quintette Community
March 28, 2010
A home in the Quintette community suffered minor damage in a Sunday afternoon stove fire.
The fire was reported in the 2400 block of Pettway Circle, just south of West Quintette Road, about 1 p.m. The fire was reportedly contained to the stove and kitchen. There were no injuries in the blaze.
The Cantonment, Molino, McDavid and Molino stations of Escambia Fire Rescue were dispatched to the call.
Jack Lee McClaskey
March 28, 2010
Jack Lee McClaskey, 84, of Pensacola, FL passed away peacefully on Wednesday afternoon, March 24, 2010. For 22 years, Jack proudly served his country in not only the Navy and Army but also the US Coast Guard where he retired in 1969 as a Chief Hospital Corpsman. He began his military career at the young age of 17 with the Unites States Navy in 1943 transitioning to the Naval Reserves 1947. In 1950 Jack made the transition to the United States Army where he was part of the invasion of North Korea at Wonson serving in Headquarters Co. 7th Infantry in 3rd Infantry Division.
Jack was pulled from action in 1951 after the tragic passing of his brother, Jim McClaskey, during the Korean War which rendered him the sole surviving son of his family. Jack honorably served in both WWII as well as the Korean War and was awarded several medals over the years for his courageous actions. In 1959 he began his service with the United States Coast Guard where he was stationed at various bases in New York, Texas, North Carolina, Virginia and New Jersey. After relocating his family to Pensacola in 1969, Jack worked for the Westinghouse Electric Company for 10 years as a quality control inspector. He was also a long time and faithful member of The Gonzalez United Methodist Church in Cantonment.
Welcoming him in heaven were his parents, Thomas McClaskey and Lillian Griffin-McClaskey, as well as his brother Jim McClaskey and his sister Jean Kelly. Also eager to greet him was his wife of 36 years Mildred “Millie” Humphrey- McClaskey.
Jack is survived by his only daughter, Shari L. Aarts; son-in-law Fernando Aarts; and two grandchildren, Jon Aarts and Tasha Aarts. Visitation will be held at Faith Chapel North on Tuesday, March 30 at 10:30am to 11:30am followed by a memorial service fromt 11:30am to 12:15pm. Burial services will be held at Barrancus National Cemetery (NAS Pensacola) at 1:15pm following the memorial services on Tuesday.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home North, 1000 Highway 29 South Cantonment is in charge of arrangements.
Deputies: Walnut Hill Home Invasion Never Happened
March 28, 2010
A home invasion reported March 19 in Walnut Hill never happened, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Instead, deputies said Saturday that it was a case of a mortgage company entering a foreclosed home and resulting accusations by an occupant.
On March 19, the occupant of a house at 6520 Highway 97 in Walnut Hill reported that he met two men, one armed with a handgun, in the hallway of the home after he heard a noise in the back of the house. The man reported that the men turned and ran to a blue truck with a roll bar. Area law enforcement agencies were put on alert, but the truck was not found.
“We believe there was no home invasion,” Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Rudy Brown said Saturday afternoon, following the completion of his investigation. “We believe the men were acting properly on behalf of the mortgage company that had foreclosed on the house.”
The owner of the home is in a local nursing home, he said. The house has no power, no running water, no appliances and no kitchen cabinets. “When you look in the windows, it looks completely unoccupied,” Brown said.
When the subcontractors arrived at the house on March 19 to change the locks, clean the yard and inspect the premises, they believed no one lived in the home. They entered, within their rights, through a back window of the house.
He said they were in a tan truck with a trailer of lawn equipment — not a blue truck as the occupant claimed. The color of the truck has been verified by an independent witness.
The subcontractors for the mortgage company did get into an argument with the occupant inside, according to the Sheriff’s Office, but they quickly left the premises. The home’s occupant told deputies that the men stole a generator from the home, but Brown said there was no evidence to that effect.
The subcontractors have spotless criminal records and work for a reputable company from Gainesville, Brown said.
“There is no probable cause for any criminal charges in the case,” Brown said.
Over 150 Cats Seized From Man’s Home; Nine Dead Cats In Freezer
March 28, 2010
A Pensacola man is facing multiple counts of animal cruelty after deputies and animal control officers seized over 100 cats from his home.
Larry Kruger, 61, is being held in the Escambia County Jail on $41,000 bond after the animals were seized from his home on Bet Mark Road, just north of 10 Mile Road.
There were eight dead cats found in Kruger’s freezer, and most of the more 161 cats seized Saturday will likely be euthanized because they are sick.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Department said Kruger may face additional charges as their investigation continues.
More Charges In $1.43 Million Theft From Sheriff’s Office
March 28, 2010
Additional charges have been filed against the former employee accused of stealing $1.43 million from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Cathy Lister, 58, is now facing 11 money laundering charges, one aggravated white collar crime charge and a charge of grand theft over $100,000.
She remains free on $25,000 bond, but the State Attorney’s Office has filed a motion to increase that bond. Judge Paul Rasmussen will hear that request on Thursday morning.
Lister was first charged in February with stealing $130,000 from the sheriff’s office, but further investigation determined that well over $1 million more was missing. The money was taken over a 10 year period from monies seized as part of investigations that was placed the department’s Evidence Trust Fund.
Lister was a 32-year employee of the department who retired from the finance division just days before her arrest.
Area University Of Alabama Student Responsible For Record Red Cross Donation
March 28, 2010
Thanks to a young man from Atmore, the University of Alabama Community Service Center presented $10,000 to the West Alabama Chapter of the American Red Cross last week.
The donation came from the work of Tray Smith, a UA freshman majoring in economics from Atmore, as part of Haiti outreach efforts on campus.
According to Neal Hardin, emergency services specialist with the American Red Cross, it was the largest donation ever obtained by a single student from a Southeastern Conference school given to a local Red Cross chapter. The West Alabama Chapter of the Red Cross named Smith a superhero for his efforts.
The donation came from The Better Life Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to helping young adults and children in need. The donation will support relief efforts in Haiti and encourage UA students to contribute and fulfill their moral responsibilities, says Smith.
The Better Life Foundation is supported by the popular band 3 Doors Down and named after their first album, The Better Life.
“We secured the funding because of our plan to use it to encourage students to give more and participate in the relief effort,” said Smith. “It is our hope in the Student Government Association that having 3 Door’s Down sponsor our Haiti relief effort will encourage students to be more giving and to follow the band’s example. We also hope this will inspire our student body to be more socially conscious in general and to live lives worthy of our school’s commitment to public service.”
What Is Your Church Doing For Easter?
March 28, 2010
What is your church doing for Easter?
NorthEscambia.com will provide free advertising for churches in North Escambia or North Santa Rosa counties in Florida, or Atmore or Flomaton in Alabama. If your church is having a special Good Friday and/or Easter service, or any other special service or event, let us know!
We will share your information with thousands of readers across the area. We will list the services on our Events page free of charge. Please try to keep your announcement for our events page to 100 words or less. Please send your event listing as far in advance of your service(s) as possible.
Send your announcement to news@northescambia.com or click here for our contact page. We will also be happy to publish photos after your event; email them to news@northescambia.com.
Bratt Assembly of God recently held an early Easter egg hunt and picnic. For a photo gallery from the event, click here.
All advertising and announcements are subject to our editorial standards.
Pictured: The Bratt Assembly of God recently held an Easter egg hunt and picnic. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.