Shirley Ann Parks
May 11, 2012
Shirley Ann Parks was born in Bratt on February 14, 1942, and passed away May 6, 2012 at the age of 70 with her family by her side.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Dewey Parks; her parents Wallace & Lizzie Roley; brothers Gladin Roley and Charles Roley; sister Lucille Walker and David Johnson, her children’s father.
She is survived by her children Johnny Johnson, Ronnie Johnson, Tammy Hicks and Sam Dreadin; sister Betty Lord (Billy); best friend Myrtle Williams; four grandchildren Travis Johnson (Kristin), Sommer Taylor (Jason), Monica Hicks and Serina Johnson; three great-grandchildren whom she adored, Evan, Kialan and Emma. She also leaves behind numerous nieces, nephews and friends.
You have been the most wonderful mama and grandma, sister and friend. You will be in our hearts forever; we will miss you very much until we meet again in Heaven.
The family will receive friends from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, May 10, 2012, at Pensacola Memorial Gardens Funeral Home.
Services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, May 11, 2012, at the funeral home.
Interment will follow at Pensacola Memorial Gardens.
Sonja Luker Receives Jail Time In Molino Cancer Scam Case
May 10, 2012
A Molino woman has been sentenced to almost a year in jail for making up a cancer diagnosis for financial gain.
Sonja Luker was sentenced by Judge Joel Boles Thursday morning to 364 days in jail to be followed by 18 months probation and 200 hours of community service. She will not be allowed to perform her community service in a hospital or raising funds for any medical issue.
She was taken into custody immediately after the sentence was handed down.
Back in March, Luker pleaded no contest to a felony fraud charge; a previous grand theft charge against her was dropped in May 2011.
Charges were dropped against her husband, Gerald “Chris” Luker after he made restitution to each identifiable victim and made a donation to the American Cancer Society.
“The evidence indicated that he believed that his wife had cancer,” Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcille said last month, “and that he was not criminally involved.”
According to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, numerous fundraisers were held between May 2004 and October 2010 that raised over $19,000. Sheriff’s investigators found that about $14,000 was used in 2009 to avoid foreclosure on their home in the 4700 block of Pine Circle Drive and about $4,000 in cash was used by Chris Luker to purchase a 1997 Harley motorcycle, according to an arrest report.
Chris Luker provided the funds to make restitution to those that donated to the “Sonja Luker Kickin Cancer Fund” and checks were mailed to victims in February. Victims that made donations by check received the full amount of the original donation.
By tracing bank deposits, prosecutors found $8,506.81 in donations that were made in cash by unknown donors to Sonja Luker. Chris Luker agreed to make an equal donation of $8,506.81 to the American Cancer Society “with the intent of the original donors to support the cure for cancer,” according to a letter that known victims received from the State Attorney’s Office.
Under the plea agreement, Chris Luker will be unable to claim a tax deduction for his donation to the American Cancer Society.
Pictured inset: Sonja Luker’s mugshot after she was booked into the Escambia County Jail Thursday. Pictured top: Sonja and Chris Luker (in black shirts) are seen in a 2009 NorthEscambia.com photo from a motorcycle ride fundraiser that benefited her alleged fight against cancer. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
A Hero’s Farewell: Last Call Sounds For Veteran Fire Chief Robert Stewart
May 10, 2012
Funeral services were held Wednesday for Robert Stewart, the former chief of the Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department. He was 62.
Stewart answered his first fire call in Escambia County 35 years ago, serving in the Bratt then the Walnut Hill department.
For a photo gallery, click here.
He received a full fireman’s funeral. Stewart’s flag draped coffin was carried open-air on the back of the Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department’s Engine 1511 from his funeral service at Petty-Eastside Chapel in Atmore, through downtown Atmore and to Godwin Cemetery in Bratt. The procession included fire trucks and law enforcement from across the area.
The truck carrying Stewart’s remains was driven by his son, Sam, who was joined by his grandson, Drew, as Engine 1511 entered the cemetery under a giant American flag flown by ladder trucks from Century and Pace. A John Deere tractor stood as the procession entered the cemetery – Stewart enjoyed playing and watching at tractors with his young grandson.
A fireman’s bell tolled in his honor, and an Escambia County Fire dispatcher conducted a “last call” over the county’s fire radio system to his former radio number “1501″.
“Escambia to 1501″, the dispatcher called twice with no response.
“Escambia to Chief Robert Stewart,” the dispatcher said, her voice resounding across the handheld radios at the service.
The radio silence was broken again, this time by tones used to alert firefighters to important information, followed by:
“There is no response from Chief Robert Stewart. Chief Robert Stewart has answered his last call. The members of the Walnut Hill Fire Department wish to thank Chief Robert Stewart for his years of service to the citizens of Escambia County. Although you are gone, you will never be forgotten. Escambia clear.”
Following the last call, a LifeFlight helicopter approached the funeral service from the eastern horizon. The front of the helicopter “dipped” and bowed in respect before flying away.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Years of Service
Robert Stewart retired as the department’s chief in 2008 after 30 years of service as a volunteer fireman in Bratt and Walnut Hill, the last 15 of those years as chief of the Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department. He retired to spend more time with his grandson “Little Man” and to fight cancer. He later became active again in the department as his health permitted.
Stewart answered his first fire call in 1967 after the formation of the Bratt Volunteer Fire Department. The Walnut Hill Ruritan Club founded the Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department in 1964 and donated a truck to form the Bratt department three years later.
For 10 years, he served the Bratt community as a volunteer fireman until Bratt VFD’s truck finally “wore out”. Walnut Hill and the Atmore Fire Department began answering calls in the Bratt community in 1977.
He was out of a volunteer fire department for about 10 years, until he joined the Walnut Hill VFD in 1987. For 21 straight years, he served the Walnut Hill department — the last 15 of those years as chief.
Stewart is survived by his wife of 43½ years, Diann Stewart, daughter Kelly Kennedy of California, son Sam Stewart of Bratt and host of other relatives.
Pictured: Funeral services were held Wednesday for former Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department Chief Robert Stewart. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge. Special thanks to Ramona Preston, Kristi Smith and Dale Johnson for contributing to the photo gallery.
Cool Tonight, Rain For The Weekend
May 10, 2012
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: Clear, with a low around 53. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Friday: Sunny, with a high near 85. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south.
- Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 62. Southeast wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Saturday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 81. Breezy, with a southeast wind between 10 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
- Saturday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Cloudy, with a low around 62. Southeast wind between 10 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
- Sunday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 82. Southeast wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
- Sunday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 65. Southeast wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Monday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 84. Southeast wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Monday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 64. South wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Tuesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 86.
- Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 64.
- Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 84.
- Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 64.
- Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 84.
NorthEscambia.com Publisher Named One Of Pensacola Area’s Most Influential People
May 10, 2012
The Pensacola Independent News has released their 2012 IN Power List — their list of the most influential leaders in the greater Pensacola area.
Only one person that works primarily in the North Escambia area was named to the list — NorthEscambia.com publisher William Reynolds.
“Influence has become more than wealth or position. In this transformative era, influence is tied to leadership and a willingness to take risks and to push for the greater good of the entire community,” wrote Rick Outzen, Independent News publisher.
Topping the annual list this year was Dr. Judy Bense, president of the University of West Florida.
For the Independent News story about the IN Power List, click here. For the complete 2012 Power List, click here.
Obama, Romney Essentially Tied In Florida
May 10, 2012
President Barack Obama and his presumptive GOP opponent, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, are in a statistical dead heat in the nation’s largest swing state about six months before voters Florida head to the polls, according to a new poll from Suffolk University and WSVN-Miami.
The survey shows Obama holding 46 percent of the vote to Romney’s 45 percent, with 7 percent undecided. But Romney’s selection of a running mate could swing the results — with 47 percent of voters backing a ticket with Romney and U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, compared to 44 percent for Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.
A ticket with Romney and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush would lead Obama-Biden by a 47-45 margin.
In January, the Suffolk/WSVN poll showed Romney with a 47 percent to 42 percent lead over Obama as the Republican primary was getting underway.
“Despite locking up the Republican nomination and a strong showing in the Florida Republican primary in January, Romney still has a lot of work to do to win over Florida voters,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston, in a news release. “He would need to repair the fallout of negativity from the Republican primaries by being more likable and offering general-election voters a positive alternative to President Obama.”
The poll, which has a margin of error of 4 percent, included telephone interviews of 600 registered voters from May 6-8.
By The News Service of Florida
Man Walks Up To Deputy With Cocaine In His Pocket
May 10, 2012
A Cantonment man was charged with three felonies after walking up to an Escambia County deputy with cocaine in his pants pocket.
According to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office report, 37-year old Lorenzo McNeal drove up and parked his vehicle on 57th Avenue near Lillian Highway where the deputy was speaking with an acquaintance Of McNeal.
The deputy asked McNeal for identification, at which time McNeal admitted he did not have a valid driver’s license. He was arrested as a habitual offender for driving without a license. Once at the jail, McNeal was discovered to have a small baggie of cocaine in his hip pocket, according to an arrest report. That resulted in charges of possession of cocaine and introduction of narcotics into a detention facility.
District Attorney Employee Gets Prison For Forgery, Ethics Violation
May 10, 2012
A former worthless check coordinator for the Escambia County (Ala.) District Attorney’s office has been sentenced for felony ethics and second degree forgery convictions. Monica Lynn Watson pleaded guilty on April 16, just before her trial was set to begin.
For each of the two counts, Watson was sentenced concurrently to six years. Her sentence was split to serve 24 months which will follow a six-month probationary period. She was also ordered to perform 300 hours of community service and to pay a fine of $1,500 along with the costs of court. A review hearing is scheduled for November 13.
Watson pleaded guilty to the intentional misuse of her public position for unlawful personal gain through the mishandling of funds in the worthless check unit and to second-degree forgery of a motion that purported to be signed by the District Attorney for the dismissal of a case against a defendant.
“This case involves extensive documentation from the Examiners of Public Accounts of misuse of funds totaling $10,259,” said Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange. “It is important that this defendant is being held to account and punished for her crimes for betraying the public trust and abusing government funds.”
Charges against Watson arose from information in an audit of the Escambia County (Ala.) District Attorney’s Office conducted in 2008 by the Examiners of Public Accounts, covering the period of September 1, 2006, to May 31, 2008. Discrepancies in funds of the Worthless Check Unit (WCU) led to further inquiries, which uncovered money orders that had been received by the District Attorney’s Office but not receipted in the WCU.
It was discovered that two money orders had been deposited into Watson’s credit union account. Furthermore, there was no record in WCU records for certain people who had paid cash to and had handwritten receipts from Watson, but the receipts were logged in under someone else’s name. The Examiners’ audit also cites Watson for filing motions to dismiss cases saying that those defendants had paid all money they owed when they had not, and that the motions were stamped with the District Attorney’s name. According to the audit, $10,259 was stolen from the WCU, which Watson initially refused but later repaid.
Watson faced a potential penalty of two to 20 years imprisonment for the ethics violation, which is a class B felony, and one to 10 years for second-degree forgery, a class C felony.
Elections, Highway Officials Flag Possible Ineligible Voters
May 10, 2012
State elections officials are working with the agency that licenses drivers to identify voters illegally on the rolls because they aren’t citizens, and has already flagged 2,600 people who are registered but may be ineligible, Secretary of State Ken Detzner said Wednesday.
Detzner said the Department of State, which includes the Division of Elections, started working more than a year ago with the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles on the project. New rules now require anyone getting a new driver license or renewing their license or state ID card to submit documentation proving their status as legal residents of the country.
With that requirement and other elements of the DHSMV system, elections officials can compare databases to find voters that may not be citizens.
A statement released by Detzner’s office said the names of more than 2,600 voters who may not be citizens have been identified through the new process and sent to county elections supervisors for further review. If found to be ineligible, they would then be removed from voter rolls.
“Our partnership with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles will be instrumental in our efforts to ensure the accuracy of Florida’s voter rolls, not only this year but in the years to follow,” Detzner said. “Florida voters need to know only eligible citizens can cast a ballot and we’re doing everything in our power to ensure that is the case.”
The prospect of large numbers of ineligible voters has driven the move to make it harder to register to vote and to cast a ballot – which is a key point of contention between those who say the government’s main role in elections is to prevent fraud to ensure their legitimacy, and those who say the government should primarily be concerned with making sure those who are eligible can easily sign up and vote. Voters who cast illegal ballots can be charged with felony fraud.
People who are flagged as possibly ineligible would be notified and have 30 days to show that they are legally allowed to vote, said Chris Cate, Department of State spokesman. “And if they can’t prove that they are a U.S. citizen, they will be removed from the rolls.”
Cate said it’s not clear yet how accurate the first batch of names is, because possibly ineligible voters’ names have only recently been sent to county supervisors, and individuals haven’t had a chance to challenge their inclusion in the list.
“We certainly want to err on the side of the voter, and not remove anybody who is eligible,” said Cate. “So we want to make sure everyone has the opportunity to prove that they are indeed a citizen and prove that they can vote.”
But voting rights advocates are skeptical, and the head of the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union said the state was trying to drum up fear of fraud to bolster its defense of a new voting law that makes it harder to register voters and puts some new requirements in place for those who want to change an address during certain times. The changes were made by lawmakers who said they were needed to reduce fraud. The law is now being challenged in federal court.
“Of course we should be able to have confidence in the integrity of the voter rolls, and anyone not eligible should be removed and not permitted to vote,” said Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida. “But the people of Florida are smart enough to see this for what it is: a PR offensive to bolster the State’s legal posture in federal court in Tallahassee and Washington.”
Simon said the new law is a “radical voter suppression measure” that is based on fraud that “did not exist.”
Many of the possible ineligible voters are in Miami-Dade County. Local media there reported this week that the supervisor of elections in that county had been sent about 2,000 names for checking.
State officials say they’re doing a secondary check after getting a match and before sending the information to local officials, trying to cross-reference the person with information from other state and federal databases, including immigration databases, that may solidify the information.
Cate said the first search turned up 1,200 matches and the second 1,400, and that he expected there would be more as the program continues. Most are people who are flagged by HSMV as being in the United States for a short time – which means they likely haven’t become citizens.
By The News Service of Florida
Charges Filed In Fatal DUI Crash
May 10, 2012
A Pace man has been charged for the death of a 19-year old killed in a single vehicle traffic accident April 25 southeast of Jay.
Calan Floyd Lewis, 23, was arrested Wednesday and charged with DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide. He was being held in the Santa Rosa County Jail without bond.
Jasmine Celest Wuesthoff of Pace was pronounced dead at the scene of the 2:04 a.m. crash near the intersection of Sandy Landing Road and Mineral Springs Road, about a mile from the Sandy Landing Boat Ramp on the Escambia River.
She was a passenger in a 1997 Chevrolet Blazer driven by Lewis. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Lewis was eastbound on Sandy Landing Road, when he lost control. The Blazer began to spin and ran off onto the north shoulder of the roadway where it hit several trees and shrubs. The vehicle then came to rest upside down on top of the trees and shrubs.
Neither the driver or passenger were wearing a seat belt.