Atmore Police Investigate Armed Robbery; Seek Help
July 7, 2010
The Atmore Police Department is investigating an armed robbery at a convenience store, and they are asking for the public’s help in locating the perpetrator.
At about 12:30 a.m. on July 6, the Atmore Police Department responded to a holdup alarm at the Kangaroo Express on Highway 31 West. The clerk working at the time of the incident told officers that a black male entered the store with a gun and told her to open the register. The suspect ran out of the store towards Rachel Patterson Elementary School with an undisclosed amount of cash, according to the clerk. The clerk was no injured
Officers secured a perimeter around the store and called a K-9 unit from the Alabama Department of Corrections for assistance. They were unable to locate the suspect.
The Atmore Police Department asked that anyone with information about this crime call the department at (251) 368-9141.
No further description of the suspect was released by the Atmore Police Department.
Woman Facing Drug Charges After Search Warrant Turns Up Cocaine, Marijuana
July 7, 2010
A Century woman has been arrested after a search warrant was executed at her mobile home last month.
Karen Louise Quinley, 42, was arrested on an outstanding warrant for cocaine possession and possession of drug paraphernalia. She was released from the Escambia County Jail on $10,000 bond.
On June 9, members of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit executed a search warrant at Quinley’s home in the 100 block of West Highway 4, near Century Care Center. No one was home at the time the warrant was executed.
According to a Sheriff’s Office arrest report, deputies found a stem of marijuana in a bedroom, crack cocaine on the kitchen table, a razor blade with cocaine residue, a marijuana cigarette and digital scales during their search.
A warrant was issued for Quinley’s arrest. That warrant was served over the Independence Day weekend.
Pictured inset: Investigator Heath Jackson and other undercover Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit agents at Karen Louise Quimby’s home on West Highway 4 as they execute a search warrant on June 9 . NorthEscambia.com exclusive file photo, click to enlarge.
Hawkins Votes Against Spending $600 To Keep $1 Million Grant
July 7, 2010
Century Town Council member Henry Hawkins has voted against spending $600 so that a $1.1 million grant drainage project could move forward — the second time he has voted against spending a few hundred dollars on the project.
At Monday night’s council meeting, Mayor Freddie McCall told the council that the town’s engineer needed $600 to have to parcels appraised so they could be purchased for the FEMA project.
“Without that piece of property, we are going to lose a million dollar grant,” McCall said.
Hawkins cast the lone vote against the $600 appraisal this week. In March, he also voted against a $900 appraisal so the project could move forward. In that same meeting, he voted with the rest o the council to spend $550 to purchase a full page ad with the council’s picture in the Tri-City Ledger.
“I got a call last week that FEMA’s going to pull the money because we can’t get our ducks in a row,” McCall said.
The town is in the middle of a Federal Emergency Management Agency review to receive $1.1 million to improve drainage off Highway 29 in the north part of town. The project includes purchasing all or part of five parcels of property. In order to receive the grant, the town must provide FEMA with a fair estimate of the cost to purchase the property.
Pictured: Century Council member Henry Hawkins reviews documents at the last meeting of the Century Town Council. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Woman Asks Deputy For Help With Trailer, Gets Busted For Drugs
July 7, 2010
A motorist that asked for help in Century was arrested after she admitted to deputies that she had drugs in her possession.
Sandra Woods Mosley, 50, of Old Bratt Road, Atmore, approached Escambia County deputy Jason Land on Industrial Boulevard in Century about 1 a.m. on July 3, asking for help with a trailer she was towing with her Jeep Cherokee. Deputy Land helped remove the trailer from the vehicle, at which time Mosley asked Land to use his flashlight to look in her vehicle for her keys.
Inside the Jeep, he found items that were possibly consistent with drug use, prompting him to question Mosley.
According to the arrest report, Mosley then spontaneously admitted that she had narcotics in her possession, reaching into her purse and pulling out a Tic Tac container with three crack cocaine rocks and one Xanax. She also produced items commonly considered drug paraphernalia.
Mosley was taken into custody and charged with possession of crack cocaine, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, and possession of drug paraphernalia. She remains in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $6,000.
Trial Delayed In $1.43 Million Sheriff’s Office Theft Case
July 7, 2010
A delay has been granted in the trial of a former Escambia County Sheriff’s Office employee accused of stealing $1.43 million from the department.
Jury selection was to begin Tuesday in the trial of Cathy Lister, 58, a former accountant that allegedly stole the funds over a long career with the Sheriff’s Office. Circuit Judge Paul Rasmussen delayed jury selection until July 19 following arguments from Lister’s attorney that he did not have adequate time to review evidence and other documents.
Lister is facing 11 money laundering charges and one aggravated white collar crime charge. She had been free on $25,000 bond, but her bond was increased to $128,500 in April. She remains in the Escambia County Jail.
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 in the department’s Evidence Trust Fund.
Court testimony has revealed that some of the money was deposited into account belonging to Lister and some of her family members. Investigators do not know where the rest of the money went.
Lister was a 32-year employee of the department who retired from the finance division just six days before her arrest.
New South Alabama Group Has $1.25 Million For Economic Development
July 7, 2010
A new alliance has launched with over $1.25 million pledged to foster economic development in several South Alabama counties, including Escambia.
Organizers say the new Coastal Gateway Regional Economic Development Alliance has $1,255,000 in secured written pledges from public and private investors to market and promote the assets of Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Monroe and Escambia counties.
The Alliance will work to market and recruit the area as a top-tier destination location, work to retain existing business and expand income potential, work to prioritize issues that impact the area as a whole and work to maintain a fund for lobbying and the creation of entrepreneurial opportunities. In order to completely meet their goals, the Alliance says it need about $2 million.
Charter board members include: Bryan Jones of Crowne Management; Sam Covert and Peggie Byrd of Alabama Power Company; Chip Harrigan of Fulton Logging Company; Mayor Terri Carter of the Town of Repton; Mayor Richard Long of the City of Jackson; Escambia County (Ala.) Commission Chairman David Stokes; Mayor Sheldon Day of the City of Thomasville; John Barnett of BankTrust; Mayor Pete Wolff of the City of Evergreen; Mayor Jerry Newton of the City of Grove Hill; Mayor Ted Jennings of the City of Brewton; Commissioner Karen Bradford of the Clarke County Commission; Mayor Ben Smith of the Town of Butler; Mayor Mike Kennedy of the City of Monroeville; and Mayor Howard Shell of the City of Atmore.
The group is taking over for the former Coastal Gateway Economic Development Authority. In order to obtain a seat on the board of the new Alliance, members must meet an undisclosed financial contribution level.
Rain Decreasing; Heat Increasing
July 7, 2010
Our wet weather patter is coming a gradual end, and summer’s heat is returning.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers before 1pm. Partly cloudy, with a high near 95. East southeast wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 70. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Thursday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 97. Calm wind becoming east southeast around 5 mph.
- Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 71. South southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 94. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph.
- Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 73. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
- Saturday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a high near 94. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Saturday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. Calm wind.
- Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 93.
- Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74.
- Monday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 92.
- Monday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74.
- Tuesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 93.
Post Office Wants To Raise Stamp Prices
July 7, 2010
The U.S. Postal Service announced Tuesday that it wants to raise the price of first class postage by two cents.
The price of a first class stamp would jump two cents from 44 to 46 cents. The price of a postcard would increase 2 cents to 30 cents, as the price for other services would jump an average of 5 percent.
The Postal Regulatory Commission must approve the recommended price changes. The increases would not go into effect until January 2, 2011. It would be the first stamp price increase in almost two years.
Faced with plummeting mail volume traced to the recession and increased use of the Internet, the Postal Service is projecting a deficit of nearly $7 billion for the next fiscal year. Despite eliminating millions work hours and reducing expenses by more than $1 billion every year since 2001, a budget gap remains.
The proposed price changes, if approved, will raise about $2.3 billion for the first nine months of 2011. Postmaster General John E. Potter said he does not want customers to bear the burden of dramatic price increases. Instead, Potter announced in March that pricing would be one in a series of solutions the Postal Service is pursuing to become financially sound.
“There is no one single solution to the dire financial situation that the Postal Service faces,” Potter said. “These proposed rate adjustments are moderate and part of a fair and balanced approach to insuring mail service for all Americans well into the future.”
The Post Office has also outlined plans to cut Saturday mail delivery.
Other actions outlined in March included the restructuring prepayments of retiree health benefits, creating a more flexible workforce and expanding access to products and services to places more convenient to customers.
Pictured: The Simpsons were honored a new 44 cent stamp introduced in May, 2009.
Wednesday Escambia Oil Update
July 7, 2010
Here is the latest BP oil spill information specific to Escambia County for Wednesday, July 7:
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Important Phone Numbers For Citizens
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Century Resident Completes 500 Mile Hike Across Spain (With Photo Gallery)
July 7, 2010
Over the past month, we have followed the journals of Century resident Terri Sanders as she hikes 500 miles across Spain this summer.
As Terri hiked from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France, she filed dispatches from her journal and sent pictures when possible for NorthEscambia.com as she hiked the Camino de Santiago — the Way of St. James — to the Atlantic Ocean.
To read the complete series from day one, click here. For a photo gallery from her trip, click here.
Today, we bring you Terri’s final journal entry as she finishes her pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago.
June 30, 2010
Start: Arca
Destination: Santiago De Compostela
It was just before 6:00 a.m. when someone snagged the chair at the head of my bunk with their leg and went sprawling. Needless to say I was awake then. I even beat John out of bed. Throughout the morning all I wanted to do was walk slow and drink in every detail of this last day of the Camino. The path was lined with the ever present stands of eucalyptus trees and the shade they provided was very welcome. Then as we grew closer to the city the woodsy path was replaced by asphalt and more and more people crowded the trail.
It was 10:45 am when we crossed into the city limits of Santiago. We came down an incline and could see the city spread out before us. We had done it! We had hiked 800 kilometers across Spain! It took us another hour to get through the city to the cathedral square where we stood in line for another 45 minutes to turn in our credentials and get our compostela, our certificate of completion.
We had planned to say in Cathedral Square in the oldest hostel in the world that is in constant use. We thought it would be a nice ending for our walk. We had planned on it being higher than our usual alburque but the price of 275 Euros a night changed our mind. We were approached by a lady on the street offering pilgrims places to stay for a reasonable price.
At first we were a bit concerned but when we saw the room we were grateful. It is one room with three twin beds, a common shower and bath. It cost us 15 Euros each and we are virtually in the middle of cathedral square. We found a quaint cafe with great food and had lunch, then walked around the square taking pictures acting like common tourists. There was a group of camera men taking pictures and interviewing some guy who must have been important and we were right in the middle of all of it. He kept walking and talking, the cameras kept rolling and we stayed in back of the group the whole time. Someone later said it was some famous rock singer.
There are several quotes from our guide book that I would like to quote here. One of the most potent aspects of the pilgrimage is the extended time it requires away from the familiar. This allows an opportunity for the inner alchemy of spirit to start its work of transformation. It is not just the physical body that needs to sweat off the excess baggage, the mind needs purifying also. Our world is a mess and we are not going to fix it with more of the same. We need a fresh approach and a different mindset to the one that created the chaos in the first place. Hopefully this re-ordering of the way we see the world will quicken apace as we open to lessons presented to us along the Camino and begin to understand that life itself is a classroom.
A purpose of pilgrimage is to allow time for old belief systems and outworn truths to fall away so new and higher perspectives can arise. Collectively we live in a spiritual vacuum of our own making where the mystical and sacred have been relegated to the delusional or escapist. Accordingly we live in a three dimensional world and refuse to open the door to higher dimensions of reality. We have impoverished ourselves in the process, severely limiting our potential. We are terrorized by the chaotic world we have manifested around us and we have become ensnared in its dark forms. We have become so preoccupied with these fearful images we fail to notice that we hold the key to the door of our self made prison. We can walk out any time we choose!
It was months before I realized the changes that hiking the AT had made in me. Still today there are times that another change is brought to mind. I suppose it will be the same with my Camino hike. The only noticeable difference I have seen is the fact that about halfway through this hike I began to write poetry. I have always written but never poetry. It is like these poems were inside me all the time just waiting for me to open a door to let them out. The problem was I didn’t know that door even existed much less needed to be opened. Tomorrow we become tourists for a few days before we journey back to the states.
Miles 12.8
The End.