Jackson B. “Jack” McNabb Sr

April 10, 2012

Jackson B. “Jack” McNabb Sr, age 91 of Pensacola, went home to be with our Lord on Wednesday, April 4, 2012. Mr. McNabb was born in Jackson, Michigan on January 18, 1921. He moved to Niles, Michigan at an early age and graduated from Niles High School in 1938. He attended Parks Air College from 1941-1942 (St. Louis Univeristy); however, he left school to join the Navy in 1942.

In 1946, Mr. McNabb married Mary Ellen Dungan. After leaving the Navy in 1947, he worked for American Airlines in Chicago for a short time. They then settled in Pensacola where they lived the rest of their lives. He and Mrs. McNabb opened McNabb’s Pure/Union Oil service station and worked their together for 35 years.

Mr. McNabb was active in the Community of Christ Church where he served as priest. He volunteered at the National Museum of Naval Aviation for 20 years beginning in 1990. He had a love for model trains and airplanes and filled his home with his handiwork. Everyone who knew Mr. McNabb, knew him as an avid Florida Gator fan. His vibrant love for life and enless sense of humor will be missed by all who knew him.

Mr. McNabb was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Ellen McNabb. He is survived by his five children John R. (Louise) Bowman, James Daniel (Penny) Bowman, Deborah L. (Phil) McShane, Jackson B. (Cyndi) McNabb Jr. and Joseph B. McNabb. He is also survived by 14 grandchildren, 19 great grandchildren, one great great grandchild and a multitude of other family and friends.

The family will receive friends at the funeral home Saturday April 7, 2012 from 3 until 4 PM.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Eastern Gate Memorial Funeral Home Saturday April 7, 2012 at 4 PM officiated by Jackson B. McNabb, Jr. and assisted by Elder Diane Ward.

Pallbearers will be Mr. McNabb’s grandsons, John Gregory Bowman, James D. “Trey” Bowman, J. Bruce Bowman, Jeffery A. Bowman, P. Todd McShane, Jason Bowman and David H. Stewart.

In lieu of flowers it is requested that donations be made to the Cantonment Community Christ Church Youth Fund, 800 Watson Avenue, Cantonment, FL. Eastern Gate Memorial Funeral Home has charge of the arrangements.

Lucky Break For Lotto Store As Tree Falls

April 9, 2012

It was a bit of a lucky break for a lottery store in Davisville this morning as a falling tree barely missed the building.

The tree fell into the parking lot of the State Line O’Yes Lotto on Highway 97 at the Alabama state line about 7:10 a.m., taking down a power line but sparing the pink building. The business was not open at the time.

The obviously rotten and nearly hollow oak tree was damaged by fire on Saturday, with the Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and the Atmore Fire Department extinguishing it. The property owner was notified at that time that the tree posed a danger and should be removed.

Both fire departments responded to the store again Monday morning after the tree fell; initial reports indicated that it had struck the building and there was a fire.

NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

Cantonment Man Shot By Ala. Deputies Now In Escambia Jail

April 9, 2012

The Cantonment man shot last week by deputies in Baldwin County is now in the Escambia County (Fla.) Jail.

Robert Lamar Vaughn, Sr., age 43, was booked into jail over the weekend where he remained early Monday morning without bond. He was arrested for a probation violation in a 2010 case in which he pleaded no contest to charges of petit theft, trespassing and criminal mischief.

Vaughn was shot April 3 by Baldwin County Deputy Austin Welch after a high speed chase that ended not far from the state line.

The incident began  when the Escambia County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office alerted Baldwin County authorities that Vaughn was on his way to a church cemetery outside Robertsdale to commit suicide. When a Robertsdale police officer approached a man matching Vaughn’s description at the cemetery, Vaughn jumped into his Toyota Tundra pickup truck and fled east on Highway 90. Four Baldwin County deputies joined Robertsdale police in the chase.

Spike strips were use to flatten tires on the truck, but Vaughn continued almost three miles until he pulled into the parking lot of Uncle Bubba’s Country Store in Seminole, Ala. Vaughn exited the truck and ran inside with a rifle. While inside the store, he pointed the rifle at a deputy through a glass door. The deputy fired a shot striking the Vaughn in the torso, according to the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office.

Vaughn was shot once by Welch with a shotgun. He was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola by ambulance.

Pictured: The scene at Uncle Bubba’s Country Store in Seminole, Ala., last Tuesday after a Cantonment man was shot by a Baldwin County deputy. Photo by Anthony Pura, WEAR 3, for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Clear Night, Sunny Tuesday

April 9, 2012

Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:

  • Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 53. North wind around 5 mph.
  • Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 83. North wind around 5 mph.
  • Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 55. West wind around 5 mph becoming north.
  • Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 77. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
  • Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 46. North wind around 5 mph.
  • Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 77. East wind around 5 mph.
  • Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 47. Calm wind.
  • Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 80. Southeast wind between 5 and 10 mph.
  • Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 55. South wind between 5 and 10 mph.
  • Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 79.
  • Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 60.
  • Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 87.

Gas Prices Plummet In Cantonment, Molino

April 9, 2012

Drivers that decided to fill up in Cantonment or Molino over the weekend enjoyed a bit of a break.

When a new Raceway station opened at Highway 29 and Muscogee Road in Cantonment with a below average price per gallon of $3.59, several other stations also dropped their prices to the same level.  According to AAA, the  average price per gallon in Escambia County on Sunday was $3.86.

Pictured top: Gas was $3.50 per gallon at several stations in Cantonment and Molino over the weekend. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Search Continues For Convenience Store Armed Robbery Suspect

April 9, 2012

A week after a Century convenience store was robbed at gunpoint, authorities are continuing to search for a suspect.

An armed bandit entered the Southern Pit Stop just south of the Alabama state line in Century about 9:00 last Monday night, April 9.  The store clerk told deputies that the robber displayed a small caliber silver-colored handgun during the holdup. He fled the store with an undisclosed amount of cash. No one inside the store was injured.

The suspect was described as a heavyset black male  about 6-foot 2-inches tall. He was reportedly dressed in almost all black — a black shirt, black pants, a black mask and brown gloves.

A K-9 team from Century Correctional Institution tracked the suspect toward Academy Street behind the store. Authorities believe the suspect fled in an unknown type vehicle.

As of Monday, April 9, no arrest have been reported in the incident. The robbery remains under investigation by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. Anyone with information on the holdup is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.

Pictured top: The Southern Pit Stop convenience store in Century was robbed at gunpoint the night of April 2. Pictured inset: Tracking dogs from Century Correctional Institution begin their search for the suspect. Pictured below: The K-9 unit prepares to search shortly after the armed robbery.  NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

Grant Provides For Ransom Middle “From Dirt To Dinner” Program

April 9, 2012

Ransom Middle School’s Eco Club, FFA, and Agriscience programs recently received a grant from the International Paper Foundation to start a school garden.

Ransom’s “From Dirt to Dinner” initiative will involve the Ransom Eco Club, FFA and agriculture student groups to  be involved on a daily basis. The project will present a unique opportunity to address recent challenges, such as increased global food prices, and rethink the role of agriculture and its economic and ecological benefits.

The project will also improve the school campus environment with a green zone.

Caylee’s Law Becomes Law

April 9, 2012

Prompted by the death of Orlando two-year-old Caylee Anthony in 2008, Gov. Rick Scott on Friday signed a measure to bolster penalties for lying to police when a child goes missing.

Known as “Caylee’s Law,” the measure (HB 37) was among a handful of criminal justice bills signed into law Friday by the governor that included measures on human trafficking, cop killers and paying funeral expenses for children who die while in state custody.

In contrast, Scott vetoed a measure that would have allowed some non-violent offenders to get out of jail early to fulfill their sentences with intensive substance abuse programs.

Caylee’s Law makes it a third degree felony to give false information to a law enforcement officer in the event of missing child. The bill was introduced following the highly publicized trial of Casey Anthony, Caylee’s mother, who was acquitted of murder but charged with four counts of lying to police. Caylee wasn’t reported missing until 31 days after she vanished.

Casey Anthony was sentenced to four years in prison, the maximum sentence for lying to police as a first degree misdemeanor. She was released last summer after time served.

Had the bill been in effect, she could have faced up to 20 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

Prompted by the death of another Florida youth, Scott signed HB 173, which gives the Department of Juvenile Justice the authority to pay funeral expenses in some cases if a child dies in the agency’s custody.

The bill follows the death this past summer of Eric Perez in a juvenile lock-up in Palm Beach County, and the initial refusal of the state’s chief financial officer, Jeff Atwater, to pay for his funeral expenses. The CFO’s chief of auditing, Mark Merry, said the state didn’t have statutory authority to make such payments, even though the agency had a policy in the past of doing so.

Perez, 18, died July 10 at a West Palm Beach detention center. His burial expenses were $7,600. Eventually, the state paid Perez’ family $5,000 toward the funeral expenses,

Other bills signed Friday include HB 947, which sets a 10-year minimum sentence for possession of a firearm during a burglary of a conveyance, aggravated assault; or possession of a firearm by a felon. The crimes had been subject to a three-year minimum sentence.

The governor also signed HB 7049, which consolidates prosecution of human trafficking investigations into the office of the statewide prosecutor and streamlined laws already on the books.

Among a handful of vetoes issued Friday, Scott rejected HB 177, which would allow certain offenders to be released prior to reaching 85 percent of their sentences if they are enrolled in a qualified substance abuse program.

“Justice to victims of crime is not served when a criminal is permitted to be released early from a sentence imposed by the courts,” Scott said in his veto message. “Florida’s sentencing laws have helped reduce Florida crime rate to a 40-year-low.”

By The News Service of Florida

Camp Fire Century Scores Perfect 100 On VPK Test

April 9, 2012

Camp Fire USA Century Youth Learning Center received a perfect score of 100 for the Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten School Readiness Rate for 2010-2011 school year.

Children were tested on the Echo and Fair test two weeks after they begin kindergarten. The children’s scores that attended a VPK program are calculated, and that determines the school’s or center’s grade.

Camp Fire USA is presently accepting enrollment for the 2012-2013 school year. For more information, contact  Pam Townson at (850) 256-0953.

Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Northview Honors Creative Seniors

April 9, 2012

The Escambia County Public Schools Foundation hosted the 2012 Mira Creative Arts Awards program recently, honoring 69 of the county’s most creative high school seniors.

Northview High recently honored their award winners. They are: Jacob Baldwin, Instrumental Music; Joseph Baldwin, Instrumental Music; Josie Doucette, Journalism; Alissa Fiellin, Graphic Art; Cory King, Instrumental Music; Melissa Jayne Moretz, Instrumental Music; Kiani Okahashi, Visual Art; Chelsea Parham, Theatre; Justin Purvis, Theatre; and  Darwin Eugene (D.J.) Robinson, II, Graphic Arts.

For a list of winners from other schools, click here for an earlier story.

Pictured: Northview MIRA Creative Art Award winners (L-R) Chelsea Parham, Melissa Moretz, Joseph Baldwin, Jacob Baldwin, Cory King, DJ Robinson, Justin Purvis, Kiani Okahashi, Josie Doucette, and Alissa Fiellin. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

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