Guard Unit To Deploy To Afghanistan
December 28, 2010
An area guard troop is preparing for deployment to Afghanistan just after the New Year.
The 1165th Military Police Company from Fairhope and Brewton will leave January 3 for about a month of training in Mississippi before deploying to Camp Eggars in Kabul Afghanistan.
Members of the 1165th have previously been deployed to Iraq twice and to the Olympics in Salt Lake City. They also assisted in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina.
Nearly 200 members of the 1165th Military Police Company based in Fairhope are being deployed, including about 25 based at Brewton’s Don Bryant National Guard Armory.
There will be a farewell ceremony at noon, January 3 at the Fairhope Civic Center, 161 North Section Street.
Chumuckla Redneck Parade Buys Gifts For 45
December 28, 2010
The recent Chumuckla Redneck Christmas Parade was able to provide 45 children with Christmas presents.
The annual parade is sponsored by the Chumuckla Athletic Association, with proceeds from parade entry fees and t-shirt sales used to purchase the gifts for needy children in the Chumuckla community. Each child received about $100 worth of gifts.
Pictured: One of the floats in this year’s Chumuckla Redneck Christmas Parade on December 11.
Year In Review North Escambia’s Biggest Stories Of 2010: May, June
December 28, 2010
NorthEscambia.com is looking back at 2010 with our “Year in Review” series. Each day this week, we will review the biggest stories of 2010. Today, we take a look at the biggest stories of May and June.
(For January and February, click here.)
(For March and April, click here.)
MAY
A 48-year old McDavid woman died after being found floating face down in the Escambia River near McDavid.
Gas prices were up for Memorial Day travel.
A three-year old girl was found floating faced down in a pool in the Bay Springs community. She later made a full recovery.
A new Dollar General store was announced for Molino.
Tate High School’s Mock Trial Team was honored by the Escambia County Commission for winning state in the Florida High School Mock Trial Competition tournament and placing in the National High School Mock Trial Championship.
Longtime educator and Escambia County School Board member Peter R. (Pete) Gindl, Sr. of Barrineau Park passed away in mid-May.
An 11-year old boy faced a third degree felony charge of carrying a concealed weapon and a first degree misdemeanor charge of improperly exhibiting a firearm after he allegedly pulled an unloaded gun at Bradberry Park in Walnut Hill.
May brought a bit of disappointing news for movie fans in the area as Movie Gallery announced the closure of all of their stores, including Cantonment, Atmore and Flomaton.
Over 4,000 people applied for oil spill recover jobs during a hiring event, including hundreds that applied in Century.
Nearly 500 elementary school students took part in the annual Sunshine Math Competition held at Tate High School, including many from North Escambia.
Hundreds attended the annual Old Fashioned Day in Jay.
A Florida High School Athletic Association committee gave preliminary approval to creating a new division for for small, rural schools like Northview and Jay. Schools in the rural division would compete within their own division and have their own playoff series for boys and girls basketball, baseball, football, softball and girls volleyball.
The North Pensacola Relay for Life was held at Tate High School with over 1,000 people taking part.
JUNE
FCAT scores were released in June, with Northview, Tate, Ernest Ward and Ransom recording some of the highest scores in the county at some levels.
The Century Town Council held a public workshop to decide if a local man was operating a junkyard on his residential property and if what he claimed to do for a living was a business — all part of the process to determine if the council would vote to change the rezoning on his property to commercial.
Alex, the first tropical storm of the season, entered the Gulf of Mexico and later made landfall in Mexico.
June 23 — It was the day that the World’s Whitest Beaches were no more. It was the day that the oil began to wash onto the shores of Pensacola Beach. It was the day the sands were stained black with oil; it was the day the tears of the locals stained the remaining sugar white sand.
he Northview High School FFA’s Food For America program was named the best in Florida during the 82nd Florida FFA State Convention in Orlando.
The first health advisories for Escambia County’s beaches were issued June 23 due to the oil spill.
Escambia County deputies were called to a late night bash at the Century Community Center, four months after the Town Council said it would review its rental policy for the building.
Robert Grant Piehl was sentenced to 20 years in state prison after being found guilty of shooting into an elderly woman’s home in a dispute over $40 in fake crack cocaine.
Robin Brownie Floyd, 53, and Lynn Livingston Floyd, 43, both of Gilmore Road, Century, were both found guilty on seven of eight charges of confinement of animals without sufficient food or water.
The Barrineau Park 4-H Club was honored as the oldest continuing 4-H Club in Florida.
The International Paper plant in Cantonment was shut down for about two hours due to a fire in a powerhouse. There were no injuries.
Former Flomaton Police Chief Harold L. Stewart passed away in June from injuries he received in a May traffic accident in Century.
Over 4,000 people braved the sweltering heat to attend the second annual Blueberry Jamboree Saturday at the Barrineau Park Community Center.
There were 130 graduates in the Northview High School Class of 2010, while 75 graduated from Jay.
Former Century Town Council member Marie McMurray passed away. She was 84.
Gas Leak In Molino
December 27, 2010
A broken gas line leaked for about 40 minutes Monday morning in Molino.
A vehicle apparently hit a gas service line to a residence at 4569 Highway 95A, near Adams Lane about 7:45 a.m. The leak was reported to be secured at 8:22 a.m.There were no injuries reported.
Adams Lane is located just north of Barrineau Park Road on Highway 95A.
No Injuries In Hwy 97 Crash
December 27, 2010
There were no injuries in a single vehicle rollover accident on Highway 97 north of Walnut Hill this morning.
The driver of the pickup told first responders that he was northbound on Highway 97 when he fell asleep before striking a culvert and overturning. The truck came to rest on its side, blocking one lane of Highway 97 in the 6:50 a.m. crash.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Hard Freeze Warning Tonight
December 27, 2010
There is a hard freeze warning effect for Monday night into Tuesday morning with lows forecast to drop to near 20 across the North Escambia area.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: Clear. Lows around 19. Light winds.
- Tuesday: Highs in the mid 50s. North winds around 5 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon.
- Tuesday Night: Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 20s. Light winds becoming southeast around 5 mph after midnight.
- Wednesday: Mostly sunny in the morning becoming mostly cloudy. Highs in the lower 60s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.
- Wednesday Night: Not as cool. Cloudy. Chance of rain showers. Lows in the mid 40s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph becoming 10 to 15 mph after midnight. Chance of showers 40 percent.
- Thursday: Mostly cloudy. Chance of rain. Highs in the upper 60s. Chance of rain 40 percent.
- Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy. Chance of rain. Lows in the mid 50s. Chance of rain 30 percent.
- Friday: Mostly cloudy. Slight chance of rain. Highs in the lower 70s. Chance of rain 20 percent.
- Friday Night: Mostly cloudy. Scattered rain showers and isolated thunderstorms. Lows in the mid 50s. Chance of precipitation 40 percent.
- New Year’s Day: Mostly cloudy. Scattered rain showers and isolated thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 60s. Chance of precipitation 40 percent.
- Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy. Scattered rain showers and isolated thunderstorms. Lows in the upper 40s. Chance of precipitation 40 percent.
- Sunday: A 30 percent chance of rain. Mostly sunny, with a high near 59.
War Of Words Continues Between WEAR And Bright House House
December 27, 2010
The war of words between Bright House Networks and the parent company of WEAR TV 3 continues, with cable television viewers in Century and Cantonment caught in the middle.
The current retransmission agreement that allows Bright House Networks to deliver the Sinclair Broadcast Group owned WEAR expires on December 31. That contract is still in the negotiation stage.
“If another agreement is not reached by the end of the year, our programming will no longer be available on their system,” WEAR Operations Manager Joe Smith said.
WEAR has stepped up their on-air campaign in the battle, airing commercials that proclaim that Bright House customers can switch to Dish Network or DirecTV satellite services to save money — and keep WEAR in the process.
“By law, Bright House Networks must have Sinclair’s permission to provide the signal to broadcast the station. It’s up to them to grant or deny it,” said Robert Smith, director of pubic affairs for Bright House told NorthEscambia.com. “Despite the public noise, which is a routine negotiating tactic, the channel owner normally does not remove its channels because it’s very disruptive for viewers and the deals eventually get resolved.”
Smith said Bright House has negotiated never wants to remove programming during negotiations.
“If there is a loss of service, it will be a denial of permission by Sinclair to allow Bright House Networks permission to continue to carry their programming,” Smith said.
Year In Review North Escambia’s Biggest Stories Of 2010: March, April
December 27, 2010
NorthEscambia.com is looking back at 2010 with our “Year in Review” series. Each day this week, we will review the biggest stories of 2010. Today, we take a look at the biggest stories of March and April.
(For January and February, click here.)
MARCH
A fight at Ernest Ward Middle School during afternoon dismissal ended with a bus driver in the hospital and seven students arrested. The fight began between two students on a bus and escalated into an affray in the parking lot involving a small number of students. Several school staff members and bus drivers tried to stop the fight, and several of them were struck by students. (Pictured top)
After 27 years in law enforcement — 22 of those in North Escambia — Byrneville resident Randy Murph retired from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
The Northview Chiefs baseball team finished March with perfect district record.
Escambia County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office investigator Heath Jackson announced that he was running for sheriff in Escambia County, Alabama.
Allie Bryan from Northview High School and Leely Trevino from Jay High School were named winners in the Escambia River Electric Cooperative 2010 Youth Tour to Washington contest.
Two unrelated fires damaged two different homes a mile apart on Arthur Brown Road in Walnut Hill within about an hour. Both fires were apparently accidental.
Antonio Demetrius Ewing, then 19, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges related to a crime spree in which he robbed the Molino Tom Thumb, stole tires in Century to fix a flat on the getaway car and then escaped from deputies after he was arrested.
March brought Opening Day to the Molino Ballpark and Bradberry Park.
Northview’s Misty Doran had the school’s first no-hitter in more than a half dozen years as the Lady Chiefs shut out Ponce De Leon 10-0.
About 600 elementary school students from schools from Byrneville and Bratt to Pensacola Beach attended the annual “Food for America” program at Northview High School. About 800 people total either attended or worked with the program.
The Escambia County Commission approved rezoning a piece of property on Highway 97 so that a Molino man can move in a mobile home for his son. Bennie Hassebrock told commissioners that he has tried for four years to get approval for a mobile home on the property, which he said had been in his family for over 60 years.
The Century Town Council voted to not rely on their engineer to prioritize street resurfacing projects. Instead, council members were to create their own list — a process the mayor thinks might be too political.
It was announced in March that Ernest Ward Middle School would be the home of an electrical academy, the first such program in the nation.
In March, Census forms began arriving in mailboxes in the North Escambia area, and local officials saud it is very important that forms be returned. In Century, the mayor said he was especially hopeful that residents would respond for federal funding for the town.
Over 1,100 food-containing Buckets of Hope were donated by North Escambia area residents to help the victims of the Haiti earthquake at the First Baptist Church of Cantonment as well as the First Baptist Church of Bratt, area schools and other drop-off points.
The State of Florida approved a permit for International Paper in Cantonment to reroute their wastewater discharge from Eleven Mile Creek to an existing 1,400 acre wetland area owned by IP that includes Tee and Wicker Lakes west of Saufley Field.
Bertha Y. Wright faced a long list of drug charges after being accused of passing fraudulent prescription at a Century pharmacy while deputies found a stash of prescription drugs in her car.
United Bank in Flomaton was robbed by a male and female suspect. There were no injuries.
The Town of Century’s gas consultant told the town council that the town was being a good steward of its gas department, despite claims of faulty equipment leading to abnormally high bills.
APRIL
On April 20, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded, with the well free-flowing for three months.
Work was completed at the end of April on a $480,159 drainage project on Highway 29 in Century, and all four lanes of traffic were once again flowing without interruption for the first time in seven months.
The Northview Lady Chiefs ended the best season ever for the Chiefs at the Regional tournament.
Century heritage was celebrated during the annual Sawmill Day.
The 2010 Escambia County Farm Tour took to the roads of North Escambia as well over 100 county, city and state leaders joined leaders from the agricultural community on a tour of agricultural locations across the area.
Former state Senator and Representative Thomas “Tom” Tobiassen died at his Cantonment during the month of April.
There was no more waiting for report cards, progress reports or searching book bags for graded tests for parents of students of Ernest Ward Middle School and Northview High School when the schools joined a pilot program to allow parents to access grades online.
There are new hurricane evacuation zones in Escambia County were announced that reached inland all the way to the North Escambia area.
Grammy award winner Marty Raybon performed during the first Northview FFA Alumni Bluegrass Festival in Bratt. He was joined by Delta Reign and the Dog River Boys.
The faithful celebrated Easter with Sunrise Services held across the area.
Calling themselves the “SWANS”, a group of young ladies at Northview High School collected prom dresses that were made available to any Northview girl headed to prom that needed a dress, no questions asked.
Former Northview High School offensive coordinator Mark Heaton was named the new head football coach at Escambia County High School in Atmore.
Area residents mourned the loss of William C. America of Atmore, a man that made history as the first black member elected to the Escambia County (Ala.) Commission. He was 77.
Recycle Your Christmas Tree
December 27, 2010
ECUA will pick up its customers’ Christmas trees curbside as part of the regular yard waste collection service. The use of drop-off sites has been discontinued this year due to waning demand over the last few years.
Customers are asked to remove all tinsel and decorations from their trees and to ensure that trees, or portions of the trees are no more than six feet in length. Trees can be placed at the curb with other yard trash, and should not be placed in the green garbage containers.
For more information, please call ECUA Customer Service at 476-0480
2010’s Best Photos: March, April
December 27, 2010
All this week, we are looking back at some of our favorite and most interesting photos of 2010. Today, we are featuring photos from March and April.
(For January and February, click here.)
A student is taken into custody after a dismissal time fight at Ernest Ward Middle School ended with seven students arrested and sent a bus driver to the hospital.
Notice the tag on this car that burned on Highway 4 east of Northview High School — “I’m Spending My Kids Inheritance”.
A firefighter watches as Lifeflight lifts off from Highway 29 near Bogia Road after a March wreck.
The beginning of a long journey — the 2010 Law Enforcement Torch Run in support of Florida Special Olympics started in Century.
Taking a swing during Opening Day of Northwest Escambia play at Bradberry Park.
A Molino man died when he flipped his truck off a bridge in Jacks Branch.
Deputies investigate the armed robbery of a Molino convenience store.
Federal agent raided an Atmore tax return and check cashing business during March.
An Ernest Ward Middle School track meet.
April showers forced Relay for Life events in Atmore and Century (above) to move indoors.
The Northview Lady Chiefs celebrate after winning the District 1-2A championship.
Northview Head Coach Sammy Day is showered with ice water after the Lady Chief’s district win.
Grammy award winner Marty Raybon performs during the first Northview FFA Alumni Bluegrass Festival.
Escambia Sheriff David Morgan discusses North Escambia gangs in an exclusive NorthEscambia.com interview.
A juvenile eagle was released by Dorothy Kaufmann, director of the Wildlife Sanctuary of Northwest Florida, in Enon near Walnut Hill.