Charles Allen Adams
June 24, 2011
Charles Allen Adams, 62, passed away suddenly Wednesday, June 22, 2011, while on a family vacation in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee with his wife, all three children and all six grandchildren.
He was a member of First Baptist Church of Cantonment and was presently attending Point Baptist Church. Butch was owner of C&P Motors for over 30 years and had been in the car business with his dad and brothers since he was 12 years old. He served in The United States Army National Guard. From an early childhood he was meant to be with cars — show cars, street rods, all kinds of cars. Butch enjoyed RV-ing, fishing and the beach. His life was focused on God and his family.
Preceding him in death were his parents, B. W. and Lucille; brothers, Billy and Donald; sisters, Evelyn Adams, Eleanor Wright, and his brother in law, Durwood Willis.
Survivors include his wife of 33 years, Page and three children, Shane (Lara), Scott (Laurie) and Amanda Adams; six grandchildren, Kayla, Erin, Brionna, Jay, Cody and Grant; sisters, Francis Willis, Shirley (Wilbur) Cobb; brother, Larry (Debbie) Adams; his sister-in-law, Lura Mae Adams, brother-in-law, Bill Wright and numerous nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be held at 10:00 am on Tuesday, June 28, 2011, at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North-Cantonment. Interment will follow at Pensacola Memorial Gardens.
The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Monday, June 27, 2011, from 5-7 p.m.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home North, 1000 Highway 29 South, Cantonment is in charge of arrangements.
Escambia School Board Member Elected To Statewide Office
June 24, 2011
Escambia County School Board member Patty Hightower was elected vice president of the Florida School Boards Association at its annual spring meeting earlier this month in Tampa.
The association is a state-wide organization of all Florida school board members which provides training for school board members and coordinates the exchange of information and ideas among the state school districts.
“It is an honor to serve on the Florida School Board Association leadership team not only to represent the students and citizens of Escambia County, but to support public education for the whole state as we create partnerships and leadership to keep the public aware of developments in public education,” Hightower said.
Superintendent Malcolm Thomas said Hightower, who represents District 4, is a strong and capable leader.
“We are excited that these attributes are being recognized by others and that her talents will be used to tackle state-wide school issues,” he said.
Santa Rosa Joins Escambia In Issuing Burn Ban
June 23, 2011
Santa Rosa County issued a burn ban Thursday morning, joining Escambia County (Fla.) and the entire state of Alabama in prohibiting outdoor burning.
The ban prohibits open burning, to include but not limited to campfires, bonfires, yard debris, and other similar forms of incineration in both the incorporated and unincorporated areas of the county. State permitted burns, authorized fireworks displays, State of Florida legal consumer firework products such as sparklers, fireworks sales which are authorized by state law, and outdoor cooking in barbecue grills, smokers, or other outdoor stoves located at private residences are exempt.
Violations are punishable by a fine of up to $500.
In Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, the burn bans included the cities of Century, Jay, Milton and Pensacola as well as the unincorporated areas of the counties.
911, Phone Outage Resolved In Escambia And Santa Rosa Counties
June 23, 2011
A cut fiber optic cable left northern Escambia and Santa Rosa county AT&T landline customers unable to call 911 or make many other calls for about an hour Thursday morning.
In Escambia County, the outage Thursday morning included AT&T landline customers in Century and Cantonment. In Santa Rosa County, the outage was north of the Yellow River and Escambia Bay, including Jay.
Phone Outage: Emergency EREC Contact Information
June 23, 2011
Due to the current telephone outage in northern Santa Rosa County, Escambia River Electric Cooperative members needing to report a power disruption or emergency should call the toll-free outage number, 877-OUT-EREC, from their cell phone. If still unable to reach EREC, this information can be reported to memberservice@erec.com temporarily until the telephone outage has been repaired.
Animal Abandonment Charges Dropped Against Former Century Fireman
June 23, 2011
Charges against a former Century fireman accused of abandoning three dogs have been dropped after he successfully completed a pretrial diversion program.
Dustin Ryan Burkett, 29, was charged with three misdemeanor counts of abandonment of animals and obstruction of justice after allegedly abandoning three dogs that were reported to be rescued by the Century Station of Escambia Fire Rescue in August 2010.
The Century Station of Escambia-Rescue responded to a reported motor vehicle accident on Sunday, August 22, 2010, on North Century Boulevard just south of Tedder Road. They discovered that there was no accident; rather, a motorist had stopped after seeing the three dogs nearly in the road. Both the fire department and the Sheriff’s Office requested that Escambia County Animal Control respond, but the agency refused stating that it did not meet their call-out criteria.
Rather than leave the dogs beside the road, they were taken back to the Century firehouse as firefighters worked to determine what to do with the canines. According to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office incident report, the Burkett told his follow firefighters to, “Put them in my truck. I have a pen at my house”.
A Century Volunteer Fire Department officer emailed NorthEscambia.com that night, providing photographs of the dogs and asking for help in find the dogs’ owner. NorthEscambia.com published that story Monday, August 23.
After the article was published on NorthEscambia.com, the dogs’ owner contacted the fire department. According to the ECSO, the owner confronted Burkett at the Century fire station the next evening and asked the whereabouts of his dogs. Burkett according to the incident report, “refused to respond and acted like he didn’t know what (the victim) was talking about”.
The dogs’ owner then went to the Burkett’s residence on Highway 4A and spoke with the suspect’s father. The father was helpful but said that he did not see the dogs or know where his son had put them, the victim told deputies.
Burkett told a fire department officer that he had found a good home for the dogs in Walnut Hill, and the officer contacted NorthEscambia.com with the information. Based on that information from the fire department, a followup story was published by NorthEscambia.com on Thursday, August 26, reporting that a home had been found for the dogs.
Deputies met with both Burkett and his father. Burkett told deputies, according to their report, that he had given the dogs to a man he met. He told a deputy that he did not know how to contact the man and that the deputy should call his friend. The friend told the deputy by phone that “he did not want to be involved and that he was not going to tell a lie to keep (the suspect) out of trouble”. He said that Burkett contacted him Sunday night and “asked him to cover for him if asked the whereabouts of the missing dogs”. The friend told the deputy that Burkett told him that he took the dogs and dropped them off at the intersection of North Pine Barren Road and Highway 168.
When contacted by phone, the deputy said Burkett admitted to putting the dogs out of his vehicle on Pine Barren Road on Wednesday. About 30 minutes later, Burkett called the suspect again to advise him that he was going to face charges over the dogs. “He advised me that he didn’t kill them or sell them and that he put them out on Sunday,” Deputy David Bashore wrote in his report.
The dogs were found a few days later on Highway 4, not far from Northview High School. They were determined to be in good condition by a veterinarian and returned the owner.
Burkett was subsequently suspended from Escambia Fire Rescue.
In March 2011, Burkett entered into a plea agreement in an unrelated case on one count of child abuse, and the state dropped a charge of lewd and lascivious battery on a victim 12 to 15 years of age.
Burkett was arrested in September, 2010, in connection with a 2009 incident in which a 15-year old girl told deputies she had intercourse with Burkett at Lake Stone Campground in Century. The encounter, the victim told deputies, took place on or about March 28, 2009.
According to the State Attorney’s Office, Burkett was sentenced to five years probation on a felony child abuse charge. He was not be required to register as a sex offender, but he was required to attend counseling, the State Attorney’s Office said.
Pictured top: Former Century firefighter Dustin Ryan Burkett. Pictured top inset: These cellphone photos show three dogs found the evening of August 22 on North Century Boulevard just south of Tedder Road. The firefighter partially in the photograph is not suspected of any wrongdoing. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
U.S. Marshals Bust Sexual Battery Suspect At Nine Mile Rd. Restaurant
June 23, 2011
A wanted sexual battery suspect was arrested at a Nine Mile Road restaurant Wednesday afternoon by a U.S. Marshals Task Force.
The U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested 25-year old Daniel Brooks, wanted by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office for sexual battery by physical force.
On June 4, Brooks allegedly became enraged when his wife denied his sexual advances and used force to sexually assault her. He was arrested at Chili’s on Nine Mile Road and booked into the Escambia County Jail without bond.
Cantonment Teen, 16, Gets 36 Months In Shooting Of West Florida Student
June 23, 2011
A Cantonment teen has been sentenced to up to 36 months for the February shooting death of a West Florida High School student also from Cantonment.
Nicolas Anthoni Diaz, 16, will serve his sentence in a high-risk juvenile facility on a manslaughter charge for the shooting death of Ryan Edward Flaherty, 17. After his release, he will be on probation until his 21st birthday.
Flaherty had been at a Pensacola home with several friends on February 27 when Diaz shot him in the head with a handgun, the Sheriff’s Office said. He later died at a Pensacola hospital.
Investigators believe Diaz was under the influence of alcohol when he began to handle a handgun found in the house. The gun discharged as Diaz pointed it at Flaherty; the bullet struck Flaherty in the head.
Flaherty was a student at West Florida Tech High School Multi-Media Academy and a member of the varsity soccer team.
Arrests Made In Robbery, Stabbing In Atmore
June 23, 2011
Arrests have been made in an Atmore convenience store robbery and an unrelated stabbing.
Robbery Suspected Arrested
An Atmore man is charged with the early morning robbery of a convenience store.
The Atmore Police Department responded to a panic alarm at the Kangaroo Express on North Main Street about 4:09 Monday morning. The clerk, who was not injured, said she was robbed by a black male wearing a hoodie and armed with a handgun. The suspect fled on foot toward Brooks Lane. A K-9 tracking team from the Alabama Department of Corrections was unsuccessful in locating the suspect.
After Tracy Devon Owens, 40, was later arrested on a unrelated charges, investigators determined he was responsible for the convenience store holdup. He was booked into the Escambia County Detention Center in Brewton on charges of first degree robbery and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Stabbing Suspect Arrested
An Atmore man was arrested this week on charges related to a stabbing a week ago.
Maurice White, 39, is charged with stabbing Bruno Marshall, 41, on Ann Street on Friday, June 17. Marshall was found lying on the ground with multiple stab wounds to his chest. He was transported by ambulance to Atmore Community Hospital and later transported to the USA Medical Center in Mobile by LifeFlight.
Witnesses said White ran toward Marshall’s vehicle and the two got into a fight. White then, according to witnesses, pulled out a knife and stabbed Marshall several times before fleeing on foot.
Tax Breaks For Water Management Districts In Florida, But Not Locally
June 23, 2011
Floridians that live in four of five water management districts will see a property tax decrease, but not Panhandle residents in the Northwest Florida Water Management District.
The annual relatively small amount accessed on the property tax bills of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties will remain the same.
Governor Rick Scott signed legislation Wednesday that will save homeowners and businesses throughout Florida $210.5 million on property taxes due in 2012. Senate Bill 2142 caps the taxes Florida’s five water management districts can assess on residential and commercial properties.
That cap meant decreases of 8 to 36 percent for residents in the other four water management districts:
- Southwest Florida Water Management District — 36% reduction
- South Florida Water Management District — 30% reduction
- St. Johns Water Management District — 26% reduction
- Suwannee River Water Management District — 8% reduction
- Northwest Florida Water Management District — No increase
In addition, citizens will have more access to information about each water management district’s budget. Each district is required to provide a monthly financial statement to its governing board and make the information available to the public on the district’s website.