Mary Louise Jackson Fulcher
August 31, 2011
Mrs. Mary Louise Jackson Fulcher age 84 of Century, passed away Monday morning August 29, 2011, at her son’s residence in Flomaton after a brief illness. She was a native of Henderson, TX, and a longtime resident of East Brewton before moving to Century . Mrs. Fulcher was a member of the East Brewton Assembly of God Church and a homemaker.
She is survived by four sons, Dr. Charles (Ramona) Satterwhite of Opp, AL, Bobbie (Carol) Satterwhite of Flomaton, Woody (Annette) Satterwhite of Century, Gary Satterwhite of Houston; two daughters, Linda (David) Kelly of Brewton, Jackie (Eddie) McHenry of Century; three step children-, Larry (Shirley) Fulcher, Mary Ann (James) Pritt, Regina Fulcher; 18 grandchildren; 22 great grandchildren; seven great-great grandchildren; three brothers; and two sisters.
She was preceded in death by her parents, four brothers, two sisters, one grandson and one great grandson.
Visitation will be held Friday night September 2, 2011, from 6 until 8 at Williams Memorial Chapel Funeral Home in Brewton.
Funeral Services are scheduled for Saturday morning September 3, 2011, at 11:00 Williams Memorial Chapel Funeral Home with Rev. Lowell Thomas and Dr. Charles Satterwhite officiating.
Interment will be at 2:00 p.m. at Union Hill Cemetery, Fairfield Drive Pensacola, with Williams Memorial Chapel Funeral Home officiating.
Mary Jo Petty Chirico
August 31, 2011
Ms. Mary Jo Petty Chirico, 73, passed away on Monday, August 29, 2011 in Pensacola.
Ms. Chirico was a native and former resident of Pensacola, a former resident of New Jersey and a resident of McDavid since 1990. She was a majorette at, and 1956 graduate of, Pensacola High School. She was a member of the Daughters of the Revolution, the Creek Indian Council of Florida, a chairperson of the Native American Council and a member of the Ray’s Chapel Baptist Church.
She is survived by her son, Joseph G. and Carol Chirico of Boston, MA; her Daughter, Mary O. Chirico of NY; three grandchildren, Matthew Chirico, Michael Chirico and Jennifer Chirico; and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins in the Petty, McCall and Brewton families.
Funeral services will be held Friday, September 2, 2011, at 2 p.m. at the Ray’s Chapel Baptist Church with the Rev. Pat McCall and the Rev. Nathaniel Brown officiating.
Burial will follow at Oak Grove Cemetery in Atmore with Petty Funeral Homes directing.
Visitation will be held Thursday, September 1, 2011, from 6-9 p.m. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home.
U.S. Marshals Bust Atmore Murder Suspect In Pensacola
August 30, 2011
U.S. Marshals arrested a man wanted in an Atmore murder early this morning in Pensacola.
Antonio Alberto Crenshaw, age 29 of Pensacola , was apprehended at about 1:30 this morning by the U.S. Marshal Task Forces along with task force officers from Mobile and Pensacola at a room at the Red Roof Inn located in the 7300 Block of Plantation Road near University Mall.
Atmore Police responded to 195 Maxwell Street just before 1 a.m. last Thursday where they found 23-year old Christopher Payne Andrews not far from his vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene as the result of multiple gunshot wounds.
Crenshaw was developed as a suspect, and Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force received word late Monday night that he might be in the Pensacola area. That Gulf Coast task force, along with the U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force in Pensacola, were able to confirm that Crenshaw was in fact staying at the hotel.
Crenshaw, aka “Ton-Ton” was arrested without incident and charged as a fugitive from justice will be held on those charges. Eventually Crenshaw will be extradited back to Escambia County, Ala., where he will face the homicide charge.
Tropical Storm Katia Forms
August 30, 2011
Tropical Storm Katia formed early this morning in the eastern Atlantic is expected be become Hurricane Katia in just a few days.
The complete forecast track and information is in the graphic above, click to enlarge. While the forecast track heads westward toward the U.S., models currently turn the storm away from the U.S. coast (see below, click to enlarge).
Walnut Hill Man Gets Five Years In Federal Prison On Weapons Charge
August 30, 2011
A Walnut Hill man has been sentenced to five years in prison on a federal weapons charge. Floyd Scott Mooney, 39, was convicted in March on one count of possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted felon.
Chief Judge Casey Rogers sentenced Mooney to 60 months in federal prison with credit for time served to be followed by three years probation.
Monday, Mooney’s attorney filed paperwork with the court that claims Mooney is not a flight risk or danger to the community and asks that he be released for a 60 to 90 day period before returning to prison. Mooney said he has a farm that he risks loosing without the release, as well as federal tax matters to address. Prosecutors are opposed to the motion. No ruling has been issued on the request.
According to the indictment issued January 19 by the federal grand jury, Mooney was in possession of a half dozen rifles and ammunition in violation of federal law due to his status as a convicted felon that was sentenced to more than one year in prison.
In March 1999, Mooney was convicted on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking offense and was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison, according to federal court records.
Mooney remains in the Escambia County Jail awaiting a ruling on his request for temporary release or transfer to a federal facility.
Investigation Continues In Cow Strangulation Case; Reward At $3,000
August 30, 2011
There have been no arrests in the Memorial Day strangulation of a pregnant cow in Enon, and officials are hoping a $3,000 reward will help solve the case.
The Humane Society of the United States is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the cow’s death. The Junior Humane Society is now offering an additional $500 reward.
The owner of the pet Jersey cow found the animal dead in a pasture just behind his house on Highway 97-A Memorial Day morning as he checked on his animals. Thin twine — often called grass string – had been tied several times around the cow’s neck and had apparently strangled the animal as it was dragged through the pasture. The cow was found on its side, with its head upside down and its horns pushed several inches into the dirt.
Authorities suspect the death could have results from a prank gone wrong since school was about to end and the cow’s owner is a school bus driver.
“Viciously killing a pregnant cow for an apparent prank is an inexcusably cruel crime and anyone who would do that can be capable of hurting people, too,” said Jennifer Hobgood, Florida state director for The Humane Society of the United States. “We hope our reward helps bring justice in this horrible case.”
For more photos, click here. (Warning: Some readers may find the photos disturbing.)
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Frank Way at (850) 256-6196.
Pictured: An Escambia County Sheriff’s Office crime scene investigator photographs a pregnant cow that was apparently strangled to death in Enon. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photo, click to enlarge.
New Hours For Escambia Tax Collector Offices
August 30, 2011
Beginning Thursday, Escambia County Tax Collector Janet Holley’s office is changing its hours of operation.
Beginning September 1, all four tax collector offices will open 30 minutes earlier at 8:00 a.m. instead of 8:30 a.m. However, offices will close at 4:30 p.m. instead of 5:00 p.m. in an effort to limit the need for overtime, Holley said. Employees will continue to work a 40 hour week.
“Closing the doors at 4:30 p.m. will give us the opportunity to assist those last minute customers without requiring overtime, thus, saving taxpayer dollars,” Holley said. “Our overtime costs for the past year were about $100,000.”
For questions, call the tax collector’s office at (850) 438-6500 ext. 252.
Jay QB Suspended After Friday Night Altercation
August 30, 2011
An altercation during a Friday night football classic between Jay and Baker has led to the suspension of two players.
An altercation erupted during the game, resulting in the ejection of Jay quarterback Conner Weekes and Baker defender Billy Cotton. Game officials said punches were thrown during the altercation.
The Florida High School Athletic Association has suspended Weekes and Cotton for six games. Both schools are appealing the ruling.
Jay lost the game to Baker, 27-13.
Pictured above: WEAR 3’s camera caught the very end of an altercation at Friday night’s kickoff classic game between Baker and Jay. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Coast Guard Searching For Former Jay Resident Missing In Gulf
August 30, 2011
The Coast Guard is searching the Gulf for a former Jay resident that reportedly did not return home after a fishing trip Saturday south of Pensacola Pass.
About 8:30 Sunday morning, family reported 41-year old Lee Kent, now a resident of Gulf Breeze, missing after he did not return from a fishing trip aboard a 37-foot boat named Monkey Bar II.
The Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile HC-144A Ocean Sentry and the Guard Cutter Seahawk, an 87-foot patrol boat homeported in Carrabelle, Florida., are searching the Gulf for signs of the missing boater.
“We are searching an area larger than Maryland in order to locate Kent,” Ensign Torry James, public affairs officer with Sector Mobile, said Monday afternoon, according to the Mobile Press-Register. “We have searched for approximately 18 hours offshore Pensacola Pass. ”
The Coast Guard also has issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast to mariners in the area.
Proposal Would Tax Bottled Water In Florida
August 30, 2011
A proposal to tax bottled water was filed Monday in the Florida Senate, re-igniting a water war that has pitted Sen. Evelyn Lynn against bottlers and business groups.
Lynn’s bill (SB 118) is identical to a bill filed last year by Lynn that failed to get a committee hearing.
Given $700 million in budget cuts to water management districts and other cuts to statewide water quality programs, Lynn, R-Ormond Beach, said providing a source of money to pay for mitigating the environmental damage caused by discarded bottles may find more sympathy.
“This would be an effective way to set aside money for environmental cleanup,” Lynn told the News Service of Florida on Monday.
But opposition is expected to be fierce as Lynn battles bottlers like Nestle North American Waters and business groups who rely upon bottled water sales for a growing part of their businesses. She will also face an uphill fight against leaders in her own chamber, who have taken an ardent anti-tax stance.
“Florida’s bottled water industry generates millions of dollars in revenue for local communities and any efforts to penalize Florida’s bottled water consumers will ultimately drive business to neighboring states where it is not taxed,” said Ryan Duffy, a Nestle spokesman. “The industry supports 8,800 jobs in Florida while utilizing less than one tenth of one percent of all water usage in the state.”
The bill would levy a 6-percent surcharge on the sale of bottled water in containers under a 1 gallon size. The money would be deposited in the Ecosystem Management and Restoration Trust Fund.
Americans use 2.5 million plastic bottles an hour, making the bottled water industry a $7.7 billion market in the United States alone, according to some industry estimates. If recycled, bottles save energy, but uncollected containers have become increasingly targeted by recycling groups and have been banned in some municipalities.
Past efforts to bring a surcharge to Florida have been opposed by bottling companies, convenience stores and the national groups representing vendors, including the National Automatic Merchandising Association and their state affiliate.
“Most vending machine companies are small businesses,” said Bill Baker, a Clearwater vending company owner and president of the Automated Merchandising Association of Florida, “A tax would be bad for those mom and pops. It will also raise the price to customers.”
Environmental groups have also been relatively quiet on the issue. Charles Lee, advocacy director for Audubon of Florida, said Monday the organization has not yet taken a stance on Lynn’s bill, which is yet to gain a committee assignment.
By Micheal Peltier
The News Service of Florida