Registration Today For Northwest Escambia, Molino Rec Ball
January 16, 2010
It’s almost ball season in North Escambia, and two area recreation groups will hold registration events today.
Molino Recreation Association
The Molino Recreation Association will begin their registration today from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. Registration will continue through the last Saturday in February for Wee Ball, tee ball, baseball and softball.
Northwest Escambia
Registration for Northwest Escambia baseball and softball continues Saturday for ages 3 to 18 for Wee ball to big league.
Registration fees are: 1st child, $35, 2nd child: $25, 3rd child: free. Children will be measured and a $20 uniform deposit collected at registration. A copy of each child’s birth certificate is required.
There will also be a cleat swap…bring a pair of outgrown cleats and trade/swap while supplies last.
NWE registration will be held from 10 a.m. until noon January 16 and 23 at Bradberry Park in Walnut Hill.
Community Clothes Closet Open Today
January 16, 2010
The Community Clothes Closet will be open today from 9 until noon at the Jay Community Center.
Everything is free and everyone is welcome. For more information, contact Wendy at (850) 686-6124.
HS Basketball: Jay, Tate
January 16, 2010
Luke Rowell had an impressive 29 points to lead the Jay Royals to a 62-49 win over Freeport in overtime Friday in Jay.
Jay 62 Freeport 49 OT
Jay — Luke Rowell 29, Dakota Walker 5, Hunter Boutwell 6, Connor Weekes 3, Steven Brabham 8, Tyler Prescott 4, Todd Laney 7.
Jay 2 13 15 19 13-62 Freeport 10 13 12 14 5-49
Milton 58, Tate 45
Tate — Petey Jones 14, Krys Walden 7, Tevin Brown 9, Dylan Anderson 9, Shermonne Jones 6.
Tate 10 5 9 21-45 Milton 6 20 11 21-58
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Freeport 47, Jay 46
Jay — Ginger Jennings 15, Courtney Hammac 2, Tessa Hendricks 9, Danielle Skaggs 2, Candace Mulford 2, Amber Steadham 6, Becca Calloway 10.
Jay 10 11 16 9-46 Freeport 10 15 8 14-47
Milton 48, Tate 34
Tate — Courtney Brown 14, Megan Briske 4, Avery Cobb 4, Chelsea Hall 6, Cecillie Olsen 6.
Tate 9 5 6 14-34 Milton 5 14 8 21-48
Driver Rolls Convertible In Hwy. 99 Crash, Charged With DUI
January 16, 2010
The driver of a convertible is facing DUI charges after he escaped serious injury in a single vehicle rollover accident Friday night in Oak Grove.
The accident happened just after 10 p.m. in the 600 block of North Highway 99, just south of Eubanks Road.
Dakota Rhue Heidbreder, 22, of Muldoon Road, Pensacola, was charged with driving under the influence by the Florida Highway Patrol following the crash. Heidbreder was headed south in a Chrysler Sebring when he lost control in a curve, ran off the road, struck a driveway culvert and overturned. The vehicle landed off the roadway in an upright position. Heidbreder, who said he was wearing his seat belt, refused to be transported to the hospital.
Heidbreder was being held in the Escambia County Jail on $500 bond Saturday morning.
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 above: The driver of this convertible was charged with DUI after this accident Friday night in Oak Grove. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Burl Woods
January 15, 2010
Mr. Burl Woods, 66, passed away on Thursday, January 14, 2010 at a Mobile hospital.
Mr. Woods was a native of Uriah, AL and a resident of Atmore, AL for the past 46 years. He was the owner of Alabama Tank Inc. and attended the Judson Baptist Church.
Survivors include: his Wife of 44 years, Mona Woods of Atmore, Al; his Son, Kevin Burl and Julie Woods of Atmore, Al; his Daughter, Michelle Woods and Larry Smith of Pensacola, FL; five Grandchildren, Marianna Woods, Lily Woods, Alex Smith, William Smith and Erin Smith; one Brother, Raymond Woods of Semirah Springs, AL; three Sisters, Betty Fretwell of Semirah Springs, AL, Elizabeth Bryd of Bay Minette, AL and Mary Etheridge of Daphne, AL.
Funeral services will be held Sunday, January 17, 2010 at 3:00 P.M. at the Petty-Eastside Funeral Home with the Rev. Jimmy Dukes and the Rev. Henry Wilson officiating.
Burial will follow at Judson Cemetery.
Visitation will be held Sunday, January 17, 2010 from 1:00 P.M. until funeral time at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home.
Pallbearers will be Charles Woods, Phil Hollinger, Jimmy Woods, Michael Woods, Wayne Woods, Michael Milbredt, Stephen Stacey and Brian Helton.
Gulf Power Work In Century
January 15, 2010
Gulf Power Company is completing a transformer project in Century this morning.
They are scheduled to be working near the intersection of East Highway 4 and North Century Boulevard. The work will cause the traffic light at the intersection to be out of service for an unknown period of time.
Some homes and businesses may lose power as well.
Change Of Plans: Consolidated Government Will Pay For City Pensions
January 15, 2010
Language slipped in the consolidated government proposal at the last minute would make every resident of Escambia County responsible for funding the City of Pensacola’s problematic pension plan.
Consolidation supports had preached multiple times that county residents would not be saddled with Pensacola’s unfunded pension debt — currently over $75 million.
But just before the Escambia County Consolidation Study Commission turns their proposal over to the Northwest Florida Legislative Delegation today, the following language was added to the plan:
As consideration for the transfer of the assets of the ESP to the Consolidated Utilities Authority, the Consolidated Utilities Authority shall pay for those pension fund obligations of the City of Pensacola as those obligations existed as of October 1, 2010, until such obligations are retired.
The plan previously proposed that only the residents of the current city would be responsible post-consolidation for the pension debt. But with the new language, if voters in Escambia County and Century should vote for consolidation, they too will be responsible for the millions of unfunded debt in the city pension plan.
The consolidation commission’s final plans go the legislative delegation today. If approved by the delegation and the legislature, voters will decide as early as November if they want the governments of Pensacola, Escambia County and Century combined into one.
The Town of Century has withdrawn all support for the idea of consolidation, and the Escambia County Commission has asked the legislative delegation to delay a public vote on consolidation until November 2012 at the earliest.
Commission Changes Mind On Project Rebid For Cantonment Company
January 15, 2010
The Escambia County Commission has voted to rescind an earlier vote to rebid a drainage project won by a Mobile company. The rebid was first approved the commission after a Cantonment company, Roads, Inc., said it made a mistake in the bidding process and could actually do the job for $100,000 less than than they first bid.
At stake was the public trust and $1.9 million federal grant to fund a drainage project in the Maplewood area. The federal grant stipulates the project must be completed by late November, and commissioners were warned by staff that if they were to rebid, they might face legal action from the winner of the original bid, Gulf Equipment of Mobile. Any legal action might have meant a delay that would cost the county the grant.
Despite the advice of county staff that the rebid would be a bad idea and possibly illegal, the commission voted 4-1 to rebid the project, with Commissioner Marie Young voting against. Their plan was to give Roads, Inc. an opportunity to correct their bid mistake.
But commissioners changed their minds Thursday morning and decided not to rebid the project after outcry in the Pensacola media.
“I’m human, I make mistakes,” Commissioner Kevin White said. “I am not infallible, even though I know the public sometimes thinks we should be. Hindsight is always 20/20.”
Commissioner Wilson Robertson agreed with White, “I’m man enough to admit as we said earlier that we erred and we are human.”
“I apologize to the public for not understanding the rebid process,” Commissioner Grover Robinson said.
Gulf Equipment Corp. will retain the project at their low bid of $1,768,621. The Roads, Inc. bid was only slightly more, at $1,791,603
Census Hiring In North Escambia, Make Up To $15 An Hour
January 15, 2010
The U.S. Census Bureau will hold testing events in North Escambia for persons interested in census jobs that pay up to $15 per hour.
The Census Bureau is currently hiring temporary employees to assist with this year’s census. Jobs will include census takers, crew leaders, crew leader assistant and census clerks.
Pay generally begins at $12.50 an hour, and can range up to $15 an hour, for up to a 40 hour week.
A valid driver’s license is required for most positions. Additionally, the potential Census Bureau employee must 18 or older, pass a background check, be a U.S. citizen, pass a written test of basic skills and have a valid social security number.
Census Bureau hires locally because local residents are knowledgeable about their neighborhood and familiar with the community, its residents, and its local customs, according to their web site.
Persons taking one of the North Escambia census tests must have their valid driver’s license and social security card. Census tests will be given in North Escambia as follows:
- Tuesday, January 19, 10 a.m.: Abundant Life Assembly Of God (Century
- Tuesday, January 19, 1 p.m.: Jay Public Library
- Thursday, January 21, 5 p.m.: Walnut Hill Community Center
- Saturday, January 23, 10 a.m.: Walnut Hill Community Center
- Monday, January 25, 7 p.m.: Aldersgate United Methodist Church (Molino)
- Monday, February 8, 7 p.m.: Aldersgate United Methodist Church
For more information on census jobs, click here or call Tebyl Presley at (251) 253-0622. Churches or other organization that would like to host a census job testing site should call the same number.
Atmore Bank Robbery Suspect Back In Alabama To Face Charges
January 15, 2010
An Atmore man has been transferred back to Alabama to face federal charges in connection with the May 19, 2009, armed robbery of the First National Bank & Trust in Atmore.
Chad Floyd Jeter, now 31, was booked into the Baldwin County Jail late Thursday afternoon. He was transferred from the Levy County Jail in Broson, Florida, where he had been held since his arrest last year. According to court documents, Jeter will remain in federal custody to face federal charges before being returned to Levy County to face charges of attempted murder of a police officer.
Jeter is scheduled to be arraigned in U.S. District Court in Mobile next week.
In July, 2009, Jeter was indicted on charges of bank robbery with a weapon and use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime in violence. If convicted, he could face penalties up to life in prison and fines of a half million dollars.
The federal indictment says Jeter took about $6,289 in the May 19 armed robbery of the Atmore bank using a Marlin Model 22 LR, a .22 caliber rifle.
Jeter reportedly drove up to the downtown Atmore bank in a white pickup with a camper shell, entered the bank dressed in a dark colored trench coat and the rifle. He ordered bank employees to fill a U.S. Army backpack with cash, while he stood with the rifle pointed at the floor. He reportedly threatened a teller with the rifle during the crime.
Within a few hours of the robbery, investigators identified Jeter as their suspect. Officials searched his trailer on Highway 31 near Canoe. Inside, they found troubling evidence that Jeter may be planning to attack a military base. He said in letters and notes that he is being watched by helicopters that circle his home. Police find maps with the locations of several military bases circled, including Pensacola NAS, Eglin Air Force Base, Whiting Field and Alabama’s Ft. Rucker. The notes indicate that he plans to kill military personnel and police. Military bases are alerted to the possible threat.
Jeter’s burned out camper shell was found in the woods after the McDavid Station of Escambia Fire Rescue responds to a brush fire on a secluded section of Pine Barren Road near Breastworks Road early the morning after the robbery.
While on routine patrol at 4:15 Eastern time the Thursday morning following the Tuesday robbery, an Inglis (Fla.) Police Department officer, Tim Swigget, located a blue GMC pickup trucked parked backed into a wooded area near a Yankeetown, Florida, neighborhood. Inside the vehicle that is nearly 400 miles from Atmore, he found Jeter sleeping. After the officer determines that Jeter is wanted for the bank robbery, Jeter attacked the officer with a Ninja star.
A manhunt involving several agencies and the U.S. Coast Guard followed after Jeter fled the scene. Jeter was taken into custody in a swampy area and transported to the Levy County Jail, charged with attempted murder of the police officer and to await the federal bank robbery charges.
For a complete timeline and more details on the robbery and subsequent arrest, click here for a NorthEscambia.com story from May 22, 2009.
Pictured top: Chad Floyd Jeter’s booking photo taken late Thursday afternoon at the Baldwin County Jail. Pictured middle inset: Jeter’s truck at the First National Bank & Trust in Atmore. Pictured lower inset: Surveillance video of the bank robbery in progress. Pictured bottom: Jeter after being taken into custody last year in Levy County, Florida. NorthEscambia.com files photos, click to enlarge.
