ZZ Top: Atmore Concert Canceled Due To Stage Safety Concerns
June 12, 2012
Classic rock groups ZZ Top and 3 Doors Down canceled their show Friday night in Atmore over safety concerns over a potential stage collapse.
The scheduled concert at the Wind Creek Hotel & Casino Amphitheater was canceled based on a determination that the structural condition of the stage made it unsafe for the performers, their crews and the audience.
“This is due to numerous safety issues concerning the structural integrity of the stage, which included a significant risk of a potential stage collapse,” a statement by 3 Doors Down said.
“We’re definitely from ‘the show must go on’ school but had to draw the line this time when we found out that numerous hazards were present at the venue. We couldn’t, in good conscience, do the show knowing that the safety for those on and off stage would be in jeopardy,” said a statement released by ZZ Top Monday morning. “We had hoped the situation would have been addressed and corrected by show time but, sadly, that wasn’t the case so we just had to ‘pull the plug’ for the sake of all concerned. We hope our fans and friends understand that the decision that was made was the only one we could abide in light of those conditions.”
Members of ZZ Top were seen Saturday evening before showtime at the Food World grocery store and Jalisco’s Mexican Restaurant in Atmore.
The cancellation has made national news, reported in publications like Rolling Stone.
Pictured top: Billy F Gibbons of ZZ Top poses with Jennifer Colbert of Bratt just inside the Food World in Atmore late Saturday afternoon. Pictured inset: Classic rock group ZZ Top. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Tri-County, Atmore Gets Wins In 8U Tournament
June 12, 2012
The 2012 8U Machine Pitch District Baseball Tournament continued Monday night at the Northwest Escambia Bradberry Park.
In Monday night’s first game, postponed from Saturday morning by rain, Tri-County’s All-Stars easily defeated Atmore 14-2.
Atmore came back in the second game of the night to beat Northwest Escambia 12-3.
Reorganized Flomaton Lions Club Looking For New Members
June 12, 2012
The Flomaton Lions Club is being reorganized with the help of the Atmore Lions Club. The Flomaton club’s first meeting in over three years was held last week with several new members.
Judy Champion, Ruth Harrell, Goodie Odom, Scott Hammond and returning Lion Charles Bowles joined the club, according to organizers. The club came together to discuss community needs, including school uniforms for the upcoming year.
Hammond, Flomaton High principal, told the group that there is a need to provide school uniforms for children in need. The Lions will hold a fundraiser pancake supper on August 2.
Former Lions or community minded individuals interested in making a difference in the Flomaton area are invited to join the Flomaton Lions at their next meeting on June 19 from 6-7 p.m. at the Lions Flomaton Community Center.
Ernest Ward Seventh Grade Awards
June 12, 2012
The following seventh grade students received year-end awards at Ernest Ward Middle School.
Highest Academic Average at Ernest Ward Middle School
- Alyssa Borelli, presented by EWMS Honor Society
Highest Academic Average for Seventh Grade
- Alyssa Borelli, presented by EWMS Honor Society
Overall Most Outstanding Student
- Autumn Albritton
Overall Most Improved Student
- Jimi Brooks
A Honor Roll
- Alyssa Borelli
- Ian Schneider
- Mitchell Singleton
A/B Honor Roll
- Autumn Albritton
- Dustin Bethea
- Amy Branch
- Dillon Clary
- Austin Collier
- Peighton Dortch
- Denise Floyd
- Emily Heard
- Adrian King
- Kaleigh Linam
- Ean Lundy
- Quentin Sampson
- Brianna Smith
- Jada Tucker
- Chelsea Waters
- Alston Wiggins
- Elizabeth Wright
Golden Eagle Top Gun Award — Students who receive this award are recognized for maintaining grades of C or higher on report cards, having 10 or less absences, and receiving no referrals during the course of the school year.
Golden Eagle Top Gun Award
- Autumn Albritton
- Dustin Bethea
- Alyssa Borelli
- Amy Branch
- Kaylee Brown
- Dillon Clary
- Colby Dees
- Peighton Dortch
- Hunter Edwards
- Denise Floyd
- Jewel Garner
- Adrian King
- Kaleigh Linam
- Ean Lundy
- Brittany McLemore
- Audrienne Odom
- Quentin Sampson
- Ian Schneider
- Mitchell Singleton
- Brianna Smith
- Cody Smith
- Devin Stabler
- Jada Tucker
- Jacob Weaver
- Tylia White
- Alston Wiggins
- Hadley Woodfin
- Elizabeth Wright
Bell’s Awards
- Most Outstanding Students
- Catherine Jernigan, Advanced Reading
- Chelsea Waters, Advanced Reading
- Dustin Crumbley, Reading
- Most Improved Students
- Trenton Martin, Advanced Reading
- Mallory Gibson, Advanced Reading
- James White, Reading
Cassevah’s Awards
- Most Outstanding Students
- Brianna Smith, Geography
- Jada Tucker, Geography
- Alston Wiggins, Geography
- Mitchell Singleton, Geography
- Adrian King, Geography
- Most Improved Students
- Hunter Edwards, Geography
- Jimi Brooks, Geography
- Kyle Reaves, Geography
- Gaten Scott, Geography
- Hanna Clarke, Geography
Cassevah and Harris’ Awards
- Most Outstanding Students
- Gregory Presley, Intensive Geography
- Deonte’ Martin, Intensive Geography
Chavers’ Awards
- Most Outstanding Students
- Alyssa Borelli, Advanced Geography
- Keviana Brown, Critical Thinking
- Most Improved Students
- April Payne, Advanced Geography
- Gaten Scott, Critical Thinking
Ellis’ Awards
- Most Outstanding Students
- Alyssa Borelli, Culinary Academy
- Jada Tucker, Culinary Academy
- Ian Schneider, Culinary Academy
- Autumn Albritton, Personal Development
- Jimi Brooks, Personal Development
- Taylor Kearley, Personal Development
Findley’s Awards
- Most Outstanding Students
- De’Asia Fountain, Reading
- Brianna Smith, Intensive Reading
- Hunter Kite, Intensive Reading
- Most Improved Students
- Hanna Clarke, Reading
- Mallory Merchant, Intensive Reading
- Roquan Wiggins, Intensive Reading
Grant’ s Awards
- Most Outstanding Students
- Tanner Guidry, Geography
- Most Improved Students
- Lindsey Gindl, Geography
Greenwell’ s Awards
- Most Outstanding Students
- Jared Jeter, Physical Education
- Mallarie Rigby, Physical Education
- Adam Smith, Physical Education
- Tanner Guidry, Physical Education
- Kyle Reaves, Physical Education
- Brianna Smith, Physical Education
- Jacob Weaver, Team Sports
Hendrix and M. Johnson’ s Awards
- Most Outstanding Students
- Ashley Davis, Reading
- Most Improved Students
- Tatyanna White, Reading
A. Johnson ’ s Awards
- Most Outstanding Students
- Ian Schneider, Electrical Academy I
- Quentin Sampson, Electrical Academy I
- Alyssa Borelli, Electrical Academy I
- Brittanie McLemore, Science
Luker’ s Awards
- Most Outstanding Students
- De’Asia Fountain, Science
- Alston Wiggins, Language Arts
- Tanner Guidry, Language Arts
- Most Improved Students
- Michela Hall, Science
- Sophia Meeks, Language Arts
- Brittney Faberman, Language Arts
Rutherford’ s Awards
- Most Outstanding Students
- Jessica Stacey, Graphic Arts Academy
- Jada Tucker, Graphic Arts Academy
- Most Improved Students
- Connor Riley, Graphic Arts Academy
- Preston Milstead, Graphic Arts Academy
Salter’ s Awards
- Most Outstanding Students
- Trey Holder, Physical Education
Shamblin’ s Awards
- Most Outstanding Students
- Alyssa Borelli, Advanced Math
- Elizabeth Wright, Advanced Math
- Charlie Schachle, Math
- Dimonique Brown, Math
- Alston Wiggins, Math
- Makensie Colvin, Math
- Kristen Johnson, Math
- Brianna Smith, Math
- Ian Schneider, Advanced Math
- Mitchell Singleton, Advanced Math
Shamblin and Spence’ s Awards
- Most Outstanding Students
- Taconius Stallworth, Intensive Math
- Hunter Terry, Intensive Math
Thomas’ Awards
- Most Outstanding Students
- Zippy Harris, Intensive Science
- Most Improved Students
- Jimi Brooks, Intensive Science
Tucker’ s Awards
- Most Outstanding Students
- Amy Branch, Chorus
- Jewel Garner, Chorus
- Adrian King, Band
- Kylie Brook, Band
Ward’ s Awards
- Most Outstanding Students
- Elizabeth Wright, Drama
- Kaleigh Linam, Drama
White’ s Awards
- Most Outstanding Students
- Katie Cmehil, Math
- Ashley Davis, Math
- Jimi Brooks, Math
Wilkins’ Awards
- Most Outstanding Students
- Alexandra Burt, Language Arts
- De’Asia Fountain, Language Arts
- Peighton Dortch, Advanced Language Arts
- Rachael Irby, Advanced Language Arts
- Alyssa Borelli, Advanced Language Arts
- Most Improved Students
- Caleb Therrell, Advanced Language Arts
- Flenequa Mitchell, Language Arts
- Dylan Amerson, Language Arts
- Hunter Edwards, Language Arts
- Hunter Kite, Language Arts
Wilkins’ and Harris’ Awards
- Most Outstanding Student
- Deonte’ Martin
- Most Improved Student
- Kyle Reaves
Wilson’s Awards
- Most Outstanding Students
- Mitchell Singleton, First Semester Agriculture
- Tabitha Chavers, Second Semester Agriculture
Womack’s Awards
- Most Outstanding Students
- Alyssa Borelli, Advanced Science
- Rachel Irby, Science
- Most Improved Students
- Tanner Guidry, Advanced Science
- Shyanne Snyder, Science
Students of the Month
- Kaleigh Linam, September
- Ashley Davis, October
- Desmone Knight, November
- Troy Stuckey, December
- Ian Schneider, January
- Elizabeth Wright, February
- Hunter Kite, March
- Mallory Gibson, April
- Mitchell Singleton, May
Take Stock in Children Scholarship Opportunity
- Alston Wiggins
Duke University Talent Search Awards
- Khari Codrington
- Ian Schneider
- Zachary Sheldon
- Hadley Woodfin
The Principal’s Award, presented by Nancy Gindl-Perry, is awarded to students who show overwhelming improvement in their behavior, attitude, or academic status over the course of the school year.
Principal’s Awards
- Javier Brown
- Josie Smith
Escambia Man, 22, Gets Life In Prison For Robbing Couple
June 12, 2012
An Escambia County man has been sentenced to life in prison for robbing a couple.
Darius Christopher Austin was convicted by an Escambia County jury of principal to robbery armed with a firearm and pled to fraudulent use of a credit card and resisting an officer without violence. Immediately following the verdict, Judge Paul Rasmussen sentenced Austin to life in prison.
In December 2011, a couple was robbed in the parking lot of Wellington Arms Apartments. Austin took the victim’s wallet and shortly thereafter used his credit card at a local convenience store where the police were able to get a description of the vehicle from the store’s video. Shortly thereafter, the vehicle was located and a high speed pursuit ensued. The defendant was apprehended after a manhunt with a K-9.
Co-defendant, William Isiah Johnson, is set for trial in July 2012.
Escambia Health Department Offers Tips For Cleanup After Flood
June 12, 2012
The Escambia County Health Department offers the following tips for safe home cleanup after a flood:
After your home has been flooded it is important that water be removed as quickly as possible since it may contain material from overflowing sewage systems. Failure to remove contaminated materials can cause health risks.
If there has been a backflow of sewage into the house, the following measures should be taken to ensure proper clean-up:
- Walls, hard-surfaced floors and many other household surfaces must be cleaned with soap and water and disinfected with a solution of 1 cup of bleach to five gallons of water.
- Thoroughly disinfect surfaces that come in contact with food and children’s play areas.
- Wash all linens and clothing in hot water or dry-clean.
- Items that cannot be washed or dry-cleaned, such as mattresses and upholstered furniture, must be air dried in the sun and sprayed thoroughly with a disinfectant.
- Steam-clean all carpeting.
- Fiberboard, fibrous insulation and disposable filters that have contacted floodwater or sewage should be replaced in your heating and air conditioning system.
- Wear rubber boots and waterproof gloves during clean-up. Be careful about mixing household cleaners and disinfectants, as combining certain types of products can produce toxic fumes and result in injury or death.
It can be difficult to throw away items in a home, particularly those with sentimental value.
However, keeping certain items soaked by sewage or flood waters may be unhealthy. In general, materials that cannot be thoroughly cleaned and dried within 24-48 hours should be discarded.
For further information, please contact your local county health department or visit www.doh.state.fl.us.
Wahoos Washed Out
June 12, 2012
Inclement weather and the resulting field conditions forced the fifth and final game of the series between the Pensacola Blue Wahoos and the Birmingham Barons to be cancelled in the bottom of the fourth inning with the Wahoos up 2-1 on Monday night at Regions Park in Hoover, AL. The game is not expected to be made up, and all events that took place in the game will be erased from stats.
The Blue Wahoos took each of the first four contests of the series over the Barons and will now return home to Pensacola for a five-game series with the Mobile BayBears, the Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, with the first game slated for a 7:00 start on Wednesday evening. Fans attending Wednesday’s game are encouraged to show their support for their state’s school with a Florida vs. Alabama theme that night for the Bay-to-Bay Series with Mobile.
Feds, Florida In Dueling Lawsuits Over Voter Purge
June 12, 2012
The U.S. Department of Justice said Monday it will go to federal court to block Florida’s controversial effort to purge ineligible voters, ratcheting up a feud between the Obama administration and Gov. Rick Scott.
Word of the Department of Justice’s planned lawsuit came on the same day that Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to gain access to a federal database in the ongoing effort to remove ineligible voters from statewide registration rolls.
In a five-page letter, however, Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez said Florida is not complying with federal laws aimed at “ensuring that state efforts to find and purge ineligible persons from voter registration lists do not endanger the ability of eligible U.S. citizens to register to vote and maintain their voter registration status.”
“The federal statutes that the department has called to Florida’s attention here are longstanding requirements of which the state is certainly aware,” Perez wrote in the letter addressed to Detzner. “Because the state has indicated its unwillingness to comply with these requirements, I have authorized the initiation of an enforcement action against Florida in federal court.”
The controversy stems from the state Division of Elections earlier this year sending a list of about 2,600 names of potentially illegal voters to local supervisors of elections. The division used what it has acknowledged was an imperfect list put together from a state Highway Safety database of people who had a certain degree of likelihood to be in the country illegally.
Detzner said the agency would have liked to have sent a more reliable list but couldn’t get access to the federal Department of Homeland Security database. Local officials, he stressed, would ultimately be the ones to purge those voters who didn’t respond to a letter questioning their status.
But in the last few days, the Division of Elections released a list of the names of 86 voters it says have been removed by local supervisors because they were non-citizens between April 11 and June 8. About half of them are listed as having voted.
Detzner filed a lawsuit Monday in federal court in the District of Columbia to seek to force the federal agency to share citizenship information. Detzner said the state has been trying for nearly a year to gain access to DHS’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements Program (SAVE) database, which tracks citizenship and alien status.
“We can’t let the federal government delay our efforts to uphold the integrity of Florida elections any longer,” Detzner said in a statement. “We’ve filed a lawsuit to ensure the law is carried out and we are able to meet our obligation to keep the voter rolls accurate and current.”
But in the letter Monday, Perez said the state had not provided needed information to be able to use the SAVE database. The letter said that information involves what are known as alien registration numbers or certificate numbers found on immigration documents.
“In short, your claim that the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security have worked in concert to deny Florida access to the SAVE program is simply wrong,” Perez wrote. “By your own admission, Florida has been on notice for at least eight months that the SAVE program can verify naturalized and derived United States citizens only if Florida provided the appropriate numeric identifiers, and where necessary, the underlying documentation.”
The Department of Justice lawsuit likely will center on two federal voting laws, the National Voter Registration Act and the Voting Rights Act.
Department officials argue that the National Voter Registration Act prevents states from systematically purging voters within 90 days of an election. With Florida hold primary elections Aug. 14, that 90-day period would have started May 16.
The Voting Rights Act, meanwhile, requires Florida to get approval from the U.S. attorney general or a federal court before making election changes in five counties that have a history of discrimination. Florida has not received such approval for the purge effort.
Despite the Department of Justice arguments, Scott has continued to push the effort — and has received hundreds of e-mails in support from across the country.
“My job is to enforce the laws of Florida,” Scott said on Fox News on Monday. “I’m the governor of Florida. That is what I got elected to do. I expect every other elected official to do their job and I expect they will.”
Opponents of the purge have criticized it as too broad-brushed, and note that the 86 voters identified as ineligible would only be about one-third of one percent of all those on the list sent to supervisors.
It’s also not clear how many of the 86 voters were among the 2,600 names that have been sent to local supervisors of elections for possible removal.
Local press reports have said some of the voters who have been removed in recent weeks were taken off voter rolls after they voluntarily came forward or were sought out by local officials not using the list sent to them by the state. For example, the Palm Beach Post reported that the one purged voter from Palm Beach County who was removed, Anabel Gomez, had to have come to the local supervisors and asked to be removed, because the local supervisor, Democrat Susan Bucher, never sent out any letters seeking to remove voters identified by the state.
It is a felony for non-citizens to register to vote, and at least some of those removed are likely to face charges if local prosecutors pursue them.
Of the 86 registered voters the state said local supervisors had removed in the last couple months, more than half – 44 of them – were in Lee County. No other county came close – Miami-Dade was next with 15 – suggesting the Lee County Supervisor of Elections office was much more aggressive during the period in culling the voter rolls of ineligible voters.
By The News Service of Florida
Harold Eugene Harrison
June 12, 2012
Mr. Harold Eugene Harrison, 72, died Thursday, June 7, 2012m in Pensacola. He was a native and resident of Atmore. He attended the Church of the Living God, was a U.S. Navy veteran and a former employee of Exxon and Mallard.
He was preceded in death by a son, Ernie Holden; a granddaughter, Maggie Noell; his parents, Ezie Lee and Luvern Harrison; and two sisters, Verna Mae Harris and Alice Ruth Harris.
He is survived by his wife, Jackie Harrison of Robertsdale; five sons, Harold Eugene (Dana ) Harrison II, Bobby Carlos (Debbie) Harrison, Christopher Robin (Sharon) Holden and Michael Wayne Jordan, all of Atmore, and Joe Arnold (Linda) Holden of Thomasville; five daughters, Cheryl Ann Crews of Summerdale, Robilyn Olivia (Robby) Whatley of McDavid, Henrietta (Dusty) Adams of Walnut Hill, Jaquelyn Lorraine (Jeffrey) Flowers of Tuscaloosa and Lisa Lynette Noell of Draper, VA.; four brothers, the Rev. Earl Harrison, Robert (Faye) Harrison, Donald Ray (Barbara) Harrison, all of Atmore, and David Michael (Viva) Harrison of East Brewton; five sisters, Mary Helen (Charlie) Jones, Dorothy Ann Milstead, and Kaye (Kenneth) Robinson, all of Atmore, Faye (Eddie) Odom of Perdido, and Sarah Frances (Ken) O’Leary of Robertsdale; 28 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held Tuesday, June 12, at 2 p.m. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home with the Rev. Earl Harrison and Brother Robert Harrison officiating. Burial will follow at Oak Hill Cemetery with Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home directing.
Jones Road Open After Washout Repair
June 11, 2012
Jones Road in the northwestern corner of Escambia County is once again open. Heavy rains Monday morning washed out the sparsely populated dirt road in the Nokomis community, but it was repaired by Monday afternoon. Submitted photo by Kevin Winingar for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.