Stolen Historic Century High Class Ring Found In Yard Sale Items
May 10, 2012
Members of the Alger-Sullivan Historical Society in Century received a bit of surprise recently when a class ring stolen from their museum years ago was unexpectedly returned.
The gold Century High School Class of 1995 ring belonged to Dick Erwin, principal during the final year at Century High School. It has been displayed in one of the historical society’s museums before it was stolen.
Jerry Fischer of the Alger-Sullivan Historical Society said the ring was discovered by an area pastor in some items he purchased at a yard sale and then returned historical society for display.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Blue Wahoos Drop 3 In A Row
May 10, 2012
A trio of wild pitches from Blue Wahoos pitchers in the bottom of the seventh led to four runs as the Mississippi Braves took their third straight from Pensacola with a 5-3 win. For Mississippi, the victory secured a win in the five-game series.
The Blue Wahoos broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the seventh when Ryan LaMarre singled home Cody Puckett and Yordanys Perez to give Pensacola a 3-1 advantage.
Wahoos starter Daniel Corcino cruised through the first six innings allowing just one earned run. The right-hander exited after issuing a leadoff walk which started the four-run answer to the Wahoos top of the inning rally. Clayton Tanner (0-2) came in and faced two batters in relief of Corcino. He walked one and gave up a hit to another and threw a wild pitch which led to a run. Drew Hayes came in following Tanner and uncorked a pair of wild pitches. The first scored Adam Milligan from third, and the second scored two runners. Barrett Kleinknecht scored from third base and Andrelton Simmons scored from second giving the Braves a 5-3 lead. All four seventh inning runs the Braves scored, came home on wild pitches.
Tanner ended up taking the loss, while Cory Rasmus (1-0) got credit for the win out of the Braves bullpen. Mark Lamm (4) worked a perfect ninth to earn the save. David Hale started for the Braves and was charged will all three Blue Wahoos runs after working 6.1 innings. He gave up six hits, he walked three and he fanned three batters.
LaMarre was the bright spot for the Blue Wahoos offensively. He went 3-for-3 with a run scored and two RBI. He was the only Pensacola hitter with a multi-hit game.
The two teams wrap up the series on Thursday. The Blue Wahoos will send right-hander Tim Crabbe (1-2, 5.72) to the mound against Braves righty Gary Moran (0-1, 4.30). First pitch is set for 7:00 p.m. from Trustmark Park in Pearl, Miss.
By Tommy Thrall
Tomorrow: A Hero’s Goodbye
May 9, 2012
Funeral service were held Wednesday for Robert Stewart, the former chief of the Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department who passed away on Sunday at age 62.
Coming up Thursday morning on NorthEscambia.com, we will have complete coverage from multiple photographers as Escambia Fire Rescue, friends and family said goodbye to a man that answered his first fire call 35 years ago.
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Half Of Man’s Ear Bitten Off In Fight Over Woman
May 9, 2012
An Atmore man is charged with biting off half another man’s ear during a fight over a woman in Bratt.
Brian Craig Sims, age 41 of Marshall Avenue, was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and criminal mischief for the incident on McElhaney Road.
The victim told Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies that Sims knocked on the door of his fifth-wheel travel trailer. When he opened the door, Sims then attacked the victim — hitting him in the head with a two-inch thick stick, trying to choke him and biting off half of the victim’s left ear while he was in a headlock, according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report.
A female in the trailer with the victim said she had previously dated Sims for 2.5 years and that he was very jealous.
After deputies interviewed the victim during treatment at Atmore Community Hospital, they were able to find the other half of his ear at his residence on McElhaney Road, according to the arrest report. Deputies said they contacted the hospital and they advised that they would be unable to reattach the ear.
Sims was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $16,000 bond.
Lows Back In The 50’s
May 9, 2012
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 55. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 83. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Thursday Night: Clear, with a low around 52. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Friday: Sunny, with a high near 84. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming southeast.
- Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. Southeast wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Saturday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 81. Breezy, with a east wind between 10 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
- Saturday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. East wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
- Sunday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a high near 82. Southeast wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Sunday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a low around 64. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
- Monday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 84.
- Monday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 62.
- Tuesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 81.
- Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59.
- Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 81.
Jay Lady Royals Fall In State Championship Game
May 9, 2012
The Jay Lady Royals may have finished second Tuesday in the Class 1A State Championship game in Clermont, Florida, but they were still big winners in the eyes of the little Santa Rosa County town.
The Lady Royals finished their season at a respectable 21-4. It was the first ever appearance in a softball state championship game for Jay. And Tuesday’s 12-9 loss to Lafayette set a couple of records. The 21 total runs were the most ever scored in a FHSAA state final softball game. And Jay’s nine runs were the most ever scored by a second place team.
Only one Pensacola area team has ever brought home a state softball championship — that was Pace with the 5A crown in 2007. Jay joins just one other Escambia or Santa Rosa team to ever finish as a class runner-up — Tate (5A) in 2001.
Lafayette 12 — Jay 9
Lafayette jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first, but Jay answered to tie it at 3-3 by the end of the inning. Camille Driver and Michaela Stewart had RBI singles, while Syndney Lowery had a bases loaded walk. The inning ended for the Royals with the bases loaded.
The Hornets took a 5-3 lead in the third, as Jay was three up and three down.
The fourth ended with Lafayette with a 8-4 lead. The Lady Royals scored with a sacrifice fly from Samantha Steadham.
The fifth added a lot of excitement to the state championship game as it evened up 9-9. Jay had consecutive RBI singles from Becca Calloway and Camille Driver, and Tessa Hendricks was on an infield grounder. Olivia Wright had a two-run single for the tie.
But the Hornets stung again in with three runs, 12-9.
Pictured top: The Jay Lady Royals. Pictured inset: Tearful senior captains Tessa Hendricks and Becca Calloway tearfully accept their runner up trophy. Pictured below: A group of Jay fans made the long road trip to Clermont Tuesday to cheer on the Lady Royals. Submitted photos by Tori Reid for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
20 Arrested, 17 More Wanted For Escambia Copper Thefts
May 9, 2012
The Escambia County Sheriff’s office has arrested 20 suspects in a copper theft ring, and deputies are still searching for 17 additional suspects.
Most of the arrests were related to copper thefts and burglaries in the West Pensacola area, according to Deputy Matt Baxter, spokesperson for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. None of the arrests or outstanding warrants are related to copper thefts in the North Escambia area, including incidents last year where copper was stripped from air conditioning units at the Davisville and Byrneville community centers.
For mugshots and charges of those arrested and those wanted on outstanding warrants as of Tuesday afternoon, click here.
North Escambia Residents Sentenced In $1 Million Prisoner Tax Refund Scam
May 9, 2012
Two Cantonment residents were among four people sentenced Tuesday morning in federal court for their involvement in a fraudulent prisoner income tax refund scheme.
The sentencings of Mary Hobbs Blair, age 62 of Cantonment, Carter Hassman, age 49 currently in the Santa Rosa County Jail, Nikki Kight are 44 of Cantonment, and Michael “Elton” Blair of Gulf Breeze were announced by Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
For his plea of guilty as to count one of the indictment, which charged all defendants with conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to false claims, Hassman was sentenced to the statutory maximum of 10 years in prison by Senior United States District Judge Lacey Collier. Judge Collier also ordered Hassman to pay restitution to the government in the amount of $962,853.
For his plea of guilty as to Count One of the indictment, which charged all defendants with conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to false claims, Hassman was sentenced to the statutory maximum of 10 years in prison by Senior United States District Judge Lacey Collier. Judge Collier also ordered Hassman to pay restitution to the government in the amount of $962,853.
In recognition of her substantial assistance to the government, Mary Hobbs Blair was sentenced to serve 52 months in prison and pay restitution to the government in the amount of $962,853. Mary Blair pleaded guilty to all 37 counts of the indictment on February 22, 2012.
For their guilty pleas to count one of the indictment, Kight and Elton Blair were each placed on probation for 60 months by the court. Judge Collier ordered Elton Blair to pay $85,691 and Kight to pay $55,231 in restitution to the government.
The federal indictment alleges that beginning around January 2007, the five individuals and others filed fraudulent tax returns using the names and social security numbers of inmates housed in the Florida Department of Corrections, along with those of other individuals who were not incarcerated.
As part of the scheme, Mary Blair, Rabeau, Kight and Elton Blair’s home addresses were listed on the tax returns, so IRS refund checks would be mailed to them. According to federal investigators.
As part of the scheme, false and nonexistent businesses were listed as the purported employers, listing fraudulent wages and withholding amounts for time periods in which the inmates were incarcerated. It is alleged that during the course of the scheme the defendants and others filed and filed 223 false and fraudulent federal income tax returns, which falsely claimed approximately $954,795 in fraudulent tax refunds. The refunds were then deposited into Mary Blair’s bank accounts.
A fifth defendant, Thomas Rabeau of Brandon, FL, will be sentenced May 25.
Yep – That Was A Banana Car
May 9, 2012
Bet you looked twice. Yep. That was a big banana car slipping along in Flomaton and splitting down Highway 29 through North Escambia on Tuesday. The official name of the vehicle is (are you ready for this?) – Big Banana Car.
It’s operated by two brothers that thought the idea of a car that looked like a banana was appealing. Actually they first considered a peanut, but later felt shorted by a bag of 59 cent peanuts that only contained 218 peanuts when their previous bag contained 223. Seriously, it drove them nuts.
“I wrote a stern letter to the company asking them to account for this deplorable discrepancy but never heard anything back,” said Steve Braithwaite, driver and builder. “I no longer wanted to build a big peanut car.”
Then a few days later, he picked up a banana at a convenience store and he was ripe with ideas. He’d always loved all things yellow and had fallen in love with yellow hot rods after the movie “American Graffiti”.
“As I viewed it from all sides I started to see that it would be a perfect shape for a car. I pictured where the wheels would go and where the occupants would sit. Where the engine and bumpers would fit,” Braithwaite said.
“Why not build an enormous banana car and drive it around the world?”
The Big Banana Car will peel out of the Pensacola area today, headed toward a night stop in New Orleans. By May 12, they will slide into New Orleans for the 25th Annual Art Car Parade.
Reader submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century Rolls Out New Website
May 9, 2012
The Town of Century has officially launched their new website with the slogan “Century. Traditional Values. Today’s Technology”.
Late last year, the town purchased an $11,450 package from Ideawörks in Pensacola that included $4,200 for a “basic website design”, $1,750 for a content management system (CMS) to allow town employees to update the site, and $5,500 for a five-year comprehensive marketing strategy to include “grant identification, development, PR plan, five-year marketing plan and budget”. The marketing plan will be presented to the Century Town Council on May 21.
The goal of the site is to offer information “about local government, services the municipality offers, news, events, business information and more. The site includes Century’s history, photographs from around the town, city and council news, staff directory, information regarding economic development, resource links and a handful of other items”.
The site does not currently include town council agendas or minutes from previous meetings. It does provide a searchable municipal code database provided by an outside company.
The new site is located at centuryflorida.com.
Pictured: Screenshots of Century’s new website.
