Man Arrested In Escambia Murder
April 11, 2010
A Pensacola man has been arrested in the city’s third murder of the year.
Kurtlin Davalt, 33, was arrested Saturday night after being taken into custody at Royal Arms Motel, 3730 Mobile Highway.
Meanwhile, a motive for the homicide remains under investigation, said Lt. Gary Cutler.
Davalt became a person of interest after police were dispatched to a home in the 1300 block of East Fisher Street around 12:30 p.m. Saturday after receiving a call from Escambia County Emergency Medical Services that someone had found Vincent Davalt, 74, deceased inside his residence.
Cutler said details on the suspected cause of death are not being released. An autopsy will be done to determine the exact cause of death.
Kurtlin Davalt, also of the 1300 block of East Fisher Street, was the victim’s grandson.
Cutler said he took Vincent Davalt’s 1995 Mercedes Benz station wagon, which was found around inAttucks Court.
Cutler said police received information that Kurtlin Davalt was staying at the motel on Mobile Highway, and took him into custody just after 6 p.m. Saturday. He was charged with the murder several hours later
Anyone having information on the incident is asked to contact Detective Jonathan Thacker at 435-1975 or the Pensacola Police Department at 435-1900.
McCartney, Angeles To Wed
April 11, 2010
Mr. and Mrs. Roscoe L. McCartney of Milton, Fla. are proud to announce the engagement of their daughter, April J. McCartney to Derek R. Angeles, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ernie Angeles of Molino, Fla.
Miss McCartney is a 2009 graduate of Pace High School and is presently employed with Chick-Fil-A.
Mr. Angeles is a 2003 graduate of Northview High School and is presently employed with Regions Bank and scheduled to be in Coast Guard basic training in October 2010.
The April 24, 2010 wedding will be held at First Baptist Church of Bratt, Fla. at noon with a reception to follow at the Ruritan Club in Walnut Hill, Fla.
Ward, Drew To Wed
April 11, 2010
Mr. and Mrs. Roy Glenn Ward are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter. Jocelyn Renee, to Mr. Stephen Nicholas Drew, son of Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Carl Drew. Miss Ward is the granddaughter of Mrs. Jackson Henry Downer and the late Jackson Henry Downer of Bratt, Fla., and The Honorable and Mrs. Billy Glenn Ward of Walnut Hill, Fla.
The prospective groom is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. James Grout Van Pelt of Walnut Hill, Fla., and Mr. and Mrs. Gene Singleton and the late Joseph Carl Drew of Atmore. Miss Ward is a 2002 graduate of Christian Institute of Arts and Science and is currently attending Jefferson Davis Community College pursuing a degree in Business. She is employed at First National Bank & Trust in Atmore.
Mr. Drew is a 1999 graduate of Northview High School and a 2004 graduate of the University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance. He is employed at Reliability Solutions in Walnut Hill, Fla.
The April 17, 2010, wedding will be held at First United Methodist Church in Atmore.
Pilot Program: Northview, Ernest Ward Parents Can View Student Grades Online
April 11, 2010
There is 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.
Both schools are part of an Escambia County School District pilot program to allow access to the “TEMS” computerized grading program. Parents and guardians of students at either school can request a username and password to see their student’s grades. The grades are continually updated as participating teachers grade assignments and tests, providing a current snapshot of a student’s progress.
The school district plans to eventually expand the program to all schools.
The TEMS grade book systems was implemented for teachers in the 2008-2009 school year. Teachers upload grades eliminating the need for teachers to manually fill in scan sheets for reporting grades.
For complete instructions on how to use the TEMS grading program, click here.
Census Workers Still Needed In Century
April 11, 2010
The U.S. Census Bureau still needs to hire temporary workers in the Century area.
Applications will be given on Thursday, April 15 and Thursday, April 22 at the Century Branch Library. Applicants will also be given a skills test with 28 questions. Applicants should bring their driver’s license and Social Security card.
The Census jobs are part-time and will last about eight weeks. For more information about census jobs and to take a practice skills test, visit www.2010censusjobs.gov.
Dolores Ruth Peters
April 10, 2010
Mrs. Dolores Ruth Peters, age 80, of Walnut Hill, Fla., passed away Wednesday, April 7, 2010, in Century, Fla. She was a homemaker. She was born in Petoskey, Mich. to the late William M. and Zerelda Smith Detwiler. She and her husband moved from Michigan to Florida in 1953. They owned and operated The Apple House and Country Home Bakery in Walnut Hill FL from 1985-1998.
Mrs. Peters is survived by her husband, Vernon D. Peters of Walnut Hill; three sons, Larry Peters and wife, Wanda of Wrens, Ga., Randy Peters and wife, Cyndi of Bratt, Fla. And Erich Peters and wife Nancy of Davisville, Fla.; two daughters, Lorinda Lumbert of Sparta, MI., Debbie Litwiller and husband, John of Middleton, Mich.; two sisters, Shirley Zimmerman and husband, Ray of Sumner, Mich. And Carol Singleton of Canoe, Ala.; eighteen grandchildren and twenty-six great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held Sunday, April 11, 2010 at 10:30 a.m. From Walnut Hill Mennonite Church with Rev. Verle Peters, Rev. Don Gable and Rev. Galen Harms officiating. Interment will follow in Walnut Hill Memorial Gardens.
Active pallbearers will be the grandsons.
The family will receive friends Saturday, April 10, 2010 from 6 until 8 p.m. at Atmore Memorial Chapel.
Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home, Inc. In charge of all arrangements. Atmore, Ala.
Century Woman Arrested On Outstanding Drug Warrant
April 10, 2010
A Century woman was arrested Friday night on an outstanding drug related warrant.
Karen Suzanne Jackson, 37, of 20 West Highway 4, was booked into the Escambia County Jail about 10 p.m. on a warrant for trafficking in opium or a derivative. The charge is a first degree felony.
Jackson remains in the Escambia County Jail on $10,000 bond.
Driver Jumps Mustang Over Driveway
April 10, 2010
The driver in an early Saturday morning accident was gone from the scene when emergency workers arrived at a Highway 97 crash.
The accident was reported about 6:45 a.m. at Highway 97 and Orchard Lane. The accident had apparently happened some period of time before authorties were alerted; the hood the vehicle was already cold.
The driver was southbound when they ran off the road, hit a culvert and went airborne over Orchard Lane and into some bushes.
Firefighters did a search to determine that no one had been ejected from the vehicle.
The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue, Atmore Ambulance and the Florida Highway Patrol responded to the crash. The accident is still under investigation by the FHP.
Pictured top: The driver of this Mustang had left the scene before emergency workers arrived at the Saturday morning crash. Pictured below: The Mustang apparently went airborne over this driveway. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Wishes Come True: Girl To Ride Molino Horse On Pensacola Beach
April 10, 2010
Horse riding is illegal on Pensacola Beach, except for one little girl from New York.
Her name is Madison, and she’s from central New York state. And her one wish is to ride a horse on the beach.
Thanks to the Make-a-Wish Foundation, The Leaning Post Ranch in Molino, and the Escambia County Commission, Madison will get her wish. The commission voted to change a county ordinance to allow the ride, which is expected to take place in the next couple of weeks.
The Make-a-Wish Foundation works to grant wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions. The Leaning Post Ranch in Molino provides equine assisted activities and therapeutic riding to individuals with disabilities and at-risk youth in Northwest Florida.
Pictured: A group of youth ride at The Leaning Post in Molino. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
School Prayer Bill Wins House Panel Approval
April 10, 2010
A once controversial school prayer bill won unanimous support Thursday from a House panel after a tweak to the legislation severely blunted its reach.
“This bill is now a protection of school speech,” said Rep. Greg Evers, R-Baker, a co-sponsor of the legislation.
An earlier version of the bill had barred district school boards from discouraging the delivery of an “inspirational message” at a school sponsored activity. The language spurred outcry from the Anti-Defamation League and other groups who said Jewish students or members of other minority religions might feel uncomfortable if surrounded by largely Christian students who organized prayers at school events.
But an amendment to the legislation crossed out half of the bill that dealt with an “inspirational message,” and simply leaving the second part of the bill, which says schools are prohibited from entering any agreement that infringes or waives the rights or freedoms afforded to instructional personnel, school staff, or students by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
“This bill is about so much more than school prayer or inspirational speech, it’s about protecting Floridians’ First Amendment rights,” said Evers. “At a time when our freedoms are constantly threatened, it is of vital importance that we pass legislation that preserves our freedoms and values at all cost. If we can stop what happened to Mary Allen and the good folks at Pace High School from happening anywhere elsewhere in Florida, I feel that we have done something important and good.”
“We deeply appreciate the support of the Florida House and, especially of Representatives Evers and Drake in making sure that outside liberal forces with their own agendas do not quash the First Amendment self-expression rights of students and teachers,” said Mary Allen, a freshman at Florida State University who in May 2009 was the president of the Pace High School student body.
Anti-Defamation League officials put out a statement saying the amendment eliminated their concerns with the bill and that they would be dropping their opposition to the measure.
“Throughout its advocacy against HB 31, the Anti-Defamation League’s primary concern has been the first paragraph of the bill which would have authorized sectarian prayers, invocations, or other inspirational messages by students at so-called noncompulsory high-school activities,” the statement said. “Under the compromise passed by the Policy Council, this portion of the bill was deleted. As such, ADL will discontinue its opposition to HB 31 and we urge our constituents to do the same.”
The American Civil Liberties Union is still in opposition to the bill, and ACLU lobbyist Courtenay Strickland told lawmakers that the measure, if passed, could bankrupt school boards with litigation costs because of different legal interpretations of the bill.
“There could be huge costs involved with this legislation,” she told lawmakers.