Shelby McFarlain, Jr.
July 7, 2011
Shelby McFarlain, Jr. age 50, of Flomaton passed away Sunday, July 3, 2011. Shelby was born May 14, 1961, in Orange, TX. He worked in the paint and body business prior to being disabled. Shelby spent his time watching NASCAR, gardening, fishing and playing with his grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
Survivors include his daughters Amanda, Erica, Jessica and Anna; his 11 grandchildren; his mother, Barbara McFarlain, his father, Shelby McFarlain; his sisters, Veronica McFarlain, Pamela McFarlain, Cheryl Peebles (Jeff) and Theresa Bradshaw (Todd) along with several nieces, nephews, two aunts and one uncle.
Services will be held at 3:00 p.m. Friday, July 8, 2011, at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North Cantonment.
The family will receive friends at the funeral home one hour prior to service time.
In lieu of flowers donations may be made.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home North, 1000 Highway 29 North Cantonment is in charge of arrangements.
Virginia C. Lister
July 7, 2011
Mrs. Virginia C. Lister, 82, passed away on Wednesday, July 6, 2011, in Atmore.
Mrs. Lister was a native of Morriston, FL, a former resident of St. Petersburg and Mobile, a resident of Atmore since 1983, and attended the Holiness Church.
She is survived by her husband, Ligey “Bud” Lister of Atmore; her stepson, James and Jan Jeter of Bratt; two stepdaughters, Anncele and PeeWee Powell of
Atmore and Twyla Jean and Gary “BoBo” Bryan of Walnut Hill;; seven step-grandchildren, Vicki Marie Jeter, Becky Ganey, Jodi Jeter, Mitzy Jeter, Karla Bryan, Tony Caraway and Bert Bryan; and a step-great-grandchild, Jim Bryan.
Funeral services will be held Friday, July 8, 2011, at 10 a.m. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home in Atmore with Brother Willie Blair officiating.
Burial will follow at Little Rock Cemetery.
Visitation will be held Thursday, July 7, 2011, from 6-9 p.m. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home.
Edward O. Emmons
July 7, 2011
Edward O. Emmons, 75, of Pensacola, died Saturday, July 2, 2011, at his home. He was born on September 6, 1935, in Escambia County, AL to the late Hightower W. and Marquerite Grissett Emmons.
Ed grew up in Brownsville and attended Allie Yniestra, Blount Junior High, Pensacola and Tate high schools. He started his career in the construction industry at 17 with Dyson and Company. After being drafted into the Army in 1958, he returned to Dyson in 1960 until founding Ed Emmons Steel Erectors, Inc. in 1977. During a career that spanned over 50 years, he completed numerous projects throughout the Southeast. Some of his greatest accomplishments include Olive Baptist Church Sanctuary, N.B. Cook School of the Arts, Molino Park Elementary, Navy Federal Credit Union, National Museum of Naval Aviation and the National Flight Academy. His legacy will be continued by David Emmons and Russell Hollingsworth.
Ed was a 80 year member of West Pensacola Masonic Lodge 296 and a 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason. He was a Charter Member of Hadji Shrine, a Charter Member, Lifetime Member and Past Director of the Hadji Directors Staff. He served many years on Hadji’s Building Committee and was instrumental in the construction of Hadji Shrine Center. He was an avid sportsman and also a Lifetime Member of the NRA.
Ed is survived by his wife of 57 years Alyce Silcox Emmons, daughter Elissa Hall (Stephen), son David Emmons, daughter Suzanne Hollingsworth (Russell) and his grandchildren Stephanie and Jacob Hall, Jonathan and Lindsay Emmons and Caitlyn and Hannah Hollingsworth. He is also survived by one brother Larry J. Emmons, Sr. (Elsbeth).
Visitation will be held on Friday, July 8th from 5:00-8:00 p.m. at Faith Chapel Funeral Home orth, Cantonment. The funeral service will be held on Saturday, July 9th., at 10:00 a.m. at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North and a graveside Masonic service and burial will follow at Beulah Baptist Church Cemetery.
Pallbearers are Randy Blake, Jay Cowick, Glen Etheridge, Ray Etheridge, Manfred Laner, and Alan Sparr.
Honorary Pallbearers are Jack Bell, Herman “Bubbles” Bloch, James Bradley, Paul Fox, Johnny Gibbs, Larry Hall, Henry Johnson, Harold Stewart, Harold Swilley, past and present members of Hadji Directors Staff and the members of SMILE.
The family wishes to thank Dr. Thomas Sunnenberg and Covenant Hospice.
Injuries, Gas Leak When 94-Year Old’s Truck Hits Hardee’s
July 6, 2011
Two people were injured with when a truck struck an Escambia County Hardee’s restaurant Wednesday morning.
Just after 8 a.m., a pickup driven by Edith Gilliland of Pensacola hit the Hardee’s at the intersection of Wilde Lake Boulevard and Pine Forest Road, just south of I-10. The force of a collision near the restaurant’s drive-through windows also broke a gas line, creating a gas leak. Gas has since been turned off at the scene.
Gilliland was transported by ambulance to West Florida Hospital with minor injuries. A worker inside the restaurant, 50-year old Mary E. Woodard of Cantonment, was injured with the pickup partially entered the building and struck ovens and other cooking equipment.. She was transported by ambulance to Sacred Heart Hospital. Total damage to the building was estimated at $25,000.
Gilliland was charged with careless driving by the Florida Highway Patrol.
Pictured: Three people were injured when this pickup struck a Hardee’s restaurant this morning near I-10 and Pine Forest Road. Photo by Bree Sison, WEAR 3 for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Man Found Not Guilty Of Shooting Neighbor’s Dog ‘Barack’
July 6, 2011
A Cantonment man has been found not guilty in connection with shooting and killing his neighbor’s dog after it killed his goats.
Vincent Jerome Clay, 42, was charged with a weapons offense for using a firearm during a felony and animal cruelty after Clay’s neighbor on Calloway Street told Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies that Clay shot and killed a Rottweiler name Barak.
Clay claimed that the dog had killed his goats. The dog’s owner, Lula Mae Wilson, said she paid him $100 for the goats. Wilson tethered the dog in her yard, but it escaped. That’s when, according to the police report, Clay shot the dog with his shotgun. Deputies found the dog dead under his house along with freshly splattered blood.
The weapons charge was dropped against Clay, while a jury found him not guilty on the animal cruelty charge.
Century Man Held On Kidnapping, Child Abuse Charges
July 6, 2011
A Century man is behind bars facing felony kidnapping and child abuse charges. Bond for Devonick Dejon Thomas, age 20 of Freedom Road, is set at $125,000.
According to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, witnesses told deputies that Thomas forced the 17-year old female victim into his car and start slapping her and eventually drove away.
After being notified of the possible kidnapping, the Flomaton Police Department made contact with Thomas and the teen girl in Flomaton. According to the Florida arrest report, the girl told the Flomaton officer that she was okay, and the Flomaton Police office allowed the two to drive off together.
The victim was later located unharmed.
Deputies Seek Tips In Theft Of ZTR Mowers
July 6, 2011
The Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help in locating three high-value lawn mowers and arresting those responsible for stealing them.
Three John Deere Z-700 series zero-turn-radius mowers (similar to the photo) were stolen from Smith Tractor Company in Atmore sometime overnight June 29, according to Bruce Shue, an investigator for the Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff’s Office. The mowers, he said, are valued at about $20,000 total.
Shue said the mowers were taken from outside the building and investigators have few clues.
Anyone with information on the crime is asked to contact the Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff’s Office at (251) 368-4779 or (251) 867-0304. Smith Tractor Company is offering a $500 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the theft.
NRA Loads Up For Doctor Gun Question Trial
July 6, 2011
With a federal judge ready to hear arguments next week, the National Rifle Association and doctors are feuding about the NRA’s role in a legal challenge to Florida’s new “Docs vs Glocks” law.
The NRA is seeking to formally intervene in the case, contending it was a “foremost supporter” when lawmakers approved the measure to restrict doctors from asking patients about gun ownership.
“The Firearm Owners’ privacy law protects NRA members from intrusive, irrelevant questions by health care practitioners and from discrimination on account of their exercise of Second Amendment rights,’’ the NRA said last week in a motion to intervene.
But physicians, who argue the law is a violation of their First Amendment free-speech rights, are trying to block the NRA from playing a large role in the case. In a document Friday, the doctors said the state can adequately defend the law and that the NRA “offers only inflammatory hyperbole’’.
“The interest at issue here is a doctor’s and patient’s First Amendment right to engage in an open and frank discussion free of government interference,’’ the document says.
The legal sparring follows a major lobbying fight during this year’s legislative session about the law, which Gov. Rick Scott signed June 2.
A group of physicians quickly challenged the constitutionality of the law in federal court in Miami. U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke has scheduled a July 13 hearing on the doctors’ request for an injunction to block the law.
The law, which passed largely along party lines, says doctors and other health-care practitioners “shall respect a patient’s right to privacy and should refrain” from asking about gun ownership or whether people have guns in their homes. It also, however, says health providers may ask about guns if they believe in “good faith” that the information is relevant to a patient’s medical care or safety.
The issue centers, at least in part, on pediatricians who ask questions about household safety issues that could affect children. The law’s supporters point to episodes such as an Ocala couple complaining that a doctor told them to find another physician after they refused to answer questions about guns.
Former NRA President Marion Hammer, an influential Tallahassee lobbyist, played a major role in pushing the bill (HB 155) through the Legislature.
The law took effect immediately when Scott signed it. That helped prompt the plaintiffs, who include six individual doctors and three physician organizations, to seek an injunction.
The state has backed the NRA’s attempt to intervene in the case.
With no ruling on the motion to intervene — and the injunction hearing next week — the NRA filed another motion Tuesday aimed at allowing it to submit a brief and participate in the hearing.
By Jim Saunders
The News Service of Florida
Google Street View Car Spotted Again
July 6, 2011
A Google Street View car has been spotted in the North Escambia area numerous times over the past couple of months. Tuesday, the car with 15 cameras on top was seen around the streets of Atmore.
Google Maps with Street View, as well as Google Earth, allows users to explore places through 360-degree street level imagery. Most of the roadways in the area already appear on Street View, but the lower quality images are being updated with new realistic high definition photos.
For a more detailed look at the Google Street View Car and more information about how it all works, click here for a NorthEscambia.com story and photo gallery about the car in Walnut Hill last May.
There’s no word when the new images from the North Escambia area will be available on Google Street View.
Pictured top: A Google Street View car was spotted Tuesday afternoon on Craig Street in Atmore. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kim McCullough, click to enlarge.
White, Robertson Earn Advanced Commissioner Designation
July 6, 2011
The Florida Association of Counties (FAC) has presented Escambia County commissioners Kevin White and Wilson Robertson with their Advanced County Commissioner (ACC) designation following their completion of a comprehensive study program developed by the association.
“The Advanced County Commissioner designation is something every commissioner throughout the state should strive to achieve,” White said. “It shows a commitment not only to your constituents but to all the citizens of the county that you are attempting to do the best possible job you can.”
The ACC program is organized as a series of three seminars with 27 hours of course work. The course content focuses on leadership with an overarching theme of growth and development in Florida.
White and Robertson received the designation along with 28 other county commissioners during an awards ceremony held at the FAC Annual Conference in Orange County, Florida.