Cliffie ‘Mae’ Faulk
January 17, 2013
Mrs. Cliffie ‘Mae’ Faulk, age 84 of Century, passed away on Thursday, January 17, 2012, at Century Care Center.
Mrs. Faulk was born in Escambia County, AL, and had been a member of the Century community since 1954 coming from the McCall area. She was a homemaker and a member of Faith Bible Baptist Church. Mrs. Faulk was preceded in death by her husband, Paul J. Faulk and her brother, Clifford Byrd, Jr.
She is survived by her sons, Keith (Phyllis) Faulk of Century, Dr. Tim (Wanda) Faulk of Dothan; brothers, Richard (Ronnie) Byrd and William Byrd, both of McCall; sisters, Ruth Bruner of Dothan and Gloria (Ray) Lee of McCall; three grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
Visitation will be held on Saturday, January 19, 2013, from 1 p.m. until a 2 p.m. service time at Flomaton Funeral Home Chapel with Dr. Tim Faulk and Rev. Robert Barrow officiating.
Interment will follow at Flomaton Cemetery.
Ernest Ward Middle To Hold Spring Football Training
January 17, 2013
Ernest Ward Middle School will hold a “Football Spring Training” January 31 through February 14 for grades 5-7.
The first team meeting will be January 18 at 3 p.m. for anyone interested in playing football in the fall. Contact Coach Jeremy Greenwell at (850) 712-6354 for more information.
Ernest Ward is the only Escambia County, FL, middle school that offers a football program. The team finished last year with a 6-1 season.
Pictured: 2012 season action from the Ernest Ward Middle School Eagles. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Northview Grad Named A ‘Rising Star’ By Pensacola Newspaper
January 17, 2013
A 2004 Northview High School graduate was among those named as a “Rising Star 2013″ in today’s issue of the Pensacola Independent News.
Ashley (Wallace) Spikes, 27, is the government partnership manager of the Greater Pensacola Chamber of Commerce.
The Independent News Rising Stars program has honored Escambia and Santa Rosa leaders in the under-35 crowd since 2008. To read more, and see the 2013 Rising Stars, click here.
Man Wanted For Questioning In Homicide Turns Himself In
January 16, 2013
A Pensacola man wanted for questioning in a homicide last week turned himself in Wednesday.
Kwamane Silas walked into the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and surrendered to investigators on a warrant for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The a warrant was issued after the murder of Aquarius Devaughn on Belair Road on January 10.
Previously, Freddie Dayshen Fountain III, 23, was charged with two counts of attempted homicide, a weapons offense of firing missiles into a dwelling, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in connection with the shooting. He remains in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $190,000.
Molino Man Seriously Injured In Quintette Road Wreck
January 16, 2013
A Molino man was seriously injured in a Santa Rosa tractor-trailer accident between Pace and the Escambia River early Wednesday morning.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 53-year old Oby Glenn Melvin of Pace was traveling west on Quintette Road at Wallace Lake Road when he attempted a U-turn in front of 54-year old Christoper T. Johnson of Molino.
The south shoulder of Quintette Road was wet and the tractor-trailer’s tires slid during the U-turn, resulting in the tractor sliding into the tree line while the pole trailer stopped across the eastbound lane.
As Johnson continued east, he did not see the trailer to due the darkness and no functioning side markers on the trailer. Johnson’s 2003 Toyota Corolla struck the rear tire assembly of the pole trailer.
Johnson was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola by ambulance. Charges against Melvin are pending further investigation, according to the FHP.
Obama Signs 23 Gun Control Executive Orders
January 16, 2013
President Barack Obama is taking aim at gun violence with 23 executive orders expected to ignite a political fight with pro-gun groups and their supporters.
Obama called keeping children safe “our first task as a society,” adding that if even one life can be saved by reducing gun violence, it is the country’s obligation to try.
The proposals include a ban on assault-style weapons, a 10-round limit on magazines, a universal background checks for gun sales, and boosting mental health services. The president also said he would sign 23 executive orders to help give law enforcement and mental health professionals more tools in combating gun violence.
Rep. Jeff er (R-Chumuckla) said Obama missed a rare opportunity to bring Americans together for making schools safer for our children, instead proposing “false solutions that have proven to be ineffective” in stopping gun violence.
“This Administration’s answer to any problem continues to involve limiting individual freedom and spending more money. The Supreme Court has made it clear on numerous occasions that the right of individuals to keep and bear arms was indeed guaranteed by our Founding Fathers in the Second Amendment to the Constitution, Miller said. “Calls to reinstate the assault weapons ban and limiting the capacity of magazines does nothing to reduce the problem of gun-related crimes in this country. I would have liked the President to focus more on the issue of mental health and enforcing the gun laws that are already on the books. I would also like to see a stronger position on resource officers in schools.”
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said Obama was attempting to “undermine Americans’ constitutional right to bear arms” without doing working hard enough to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill.
“Nothing the president is proposing would have stopped the massacre at Sandy Hook. President Obama is targeting the 2nd Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens instead of seriously addressing the real underlying causes of such violence,” Rubio said.
Obama launched his gun control initiative surrounded by school children who wrote to him about gun violence following the December 14 school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut that killed 20 young children and six teachers. Obama has called the day the worst of his presidency. Families of the victims were also present.
On Tuesday, the largest U.S. gun-rights lobbying group launched an ad campaign to preemptively attack the president’s plan. The ad calls Obama an “elitist hypocrite” for allowing armed security guards to protect his school-aged daughters, while rejecting a proposal for armed guards in every school.
The National Rifle Association has been critical of gun-control efforts, saying “gun-control schemes have failed in the past and will have no impact on public safety and crime.”
A number of new polls shows many Americans appear to be more receptive to stronger government restrictions on guns.
An Associated Press-GfK poll found a majority of Americans favor a ban on military-style rapid-fire weapons and 84 percent want to see a nationwide standard for background checks for anyone wanting to buy a gun.
Another poll released this week by the Pew Research Center found 55 percent of Americans favor bans on assault-style weapons while 85 percent want stronger background checks for gun buyers.
The president’s plan is based on recommendations from Vice President Joe Biden, who was appointed to study the issue and has met with various groups since last month’s school shooting in Newtown.
Tuesday, New York state became the first in the nation to impose tougher gun-control measures in the aftermath of the Newtown school shootings. The law expands New York state’s ban on assault-style weapons and requires background checks for anyone seeking to buy ammunition. It also puts limits on ammunition capacity and includes provisions intended to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill.
Read Obama’s full plan by clicking here.
[VOA contributed to this story.]
Escambia Chiropractor Arrested On Fraud Charges
January 16, 2013
An Escambia County chiropractor was arrested Tuesday during an apparent raid on his office on Pine Forest Road.
Russell D. Dominick was booked into the Escambia County Jail without bond on three charges of fraud and one count of possessing synthetic narcotics. The fraud charges were brought by the Florida Department of Financial Services, and the narcotics charge was filed by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
The Department of Financial Services has not yet commented on the nature of the charges against the chiropractor.
The Dominick Chiropractic Clinic is located in the 7800 block of Pine Forest Road, just south of I-10.
Former Marine Gets Six Years For Teen’s Murder
January 16, 2013
A former Marine was sentenced Tuesday to six years in prison for the December 2011 murder of an Escambia County teen.
Michael Palmer Davis, 27, was convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter back in November; he had been charged with second degree murder for the shooting death of Alonzo Dewayne Knight.
Deputies responded to the 7100 block of Princess Lane near Fairfield Drive and Patricia Drive during the early morning hours of December 2, 2011. Upon arrival, Knight was
pronounced dead at the scene from a gunshot wound.
Authorities said a friend of Davis got into argument with several teenagers. During the argument, Davis fired a shot from 142 feet away, striking and killing Knight. Davis’ attorney argued that he was trying to break up the situation and did not actually intend to shoot anyone. As a trained Marine, the defense argued, he thought the shot was properly fired and he never thought a shot fired at the ground would hit someone.
Too Many Wrecks: Escambia County Seeks To Make Improvements To Jacks Branch Road
January 16, 2013
Escambia County is applying for a grant to construct paved shoulders along a six mile stretch of Jacks Branch Road due to the higher than normal number of wrecks on the roadway.
The paved shoulders would run from Barrineau Park Road near Molino to Muscogee Road in Cantonment. The county is asking the State of Florida Department of Transportation to pick up the tab, up to $3.7 million, for the project.
The Florida DOT previously notified Escambia County that Jacks Branch Road qualifies for the funding through a state Highway Safety Program. The justification was based upon the traffic crash rate for this portion of Jacks Branch Road.
Picture top and inset: A Molino man died in this 2010 crash after he hit a guardrail on approach to Jacks Branch Road and plunged into a creek. Pictured below: One person was injured in this October 2012 accident on Jacks Branch Road near Perdido Lake Road. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Cold, Rainy Forecast
January 16, 2013
Pictured: Tuesday afternoon’s sunset as seen in a rear view mirror looking back toward Canoe Creek along Highway 4 near Byrneville. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: A 40 percent chance of rain. Cloudy, with a low around 37. West wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
- Thursday: A 30 percent chance of rain, mainly before 10am. Cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing, with a high near 49. Breezy, with a west wind 10 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph.
- Thursday Night: Clear, with a low around 30. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph.
- Friday: Sunny, with a high near 56. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 30. Calm wind.
- Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 64. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the afternoon.
- Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 35. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 62. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Sunday Night: Clear, with a low around 33.
- M.L.King Day: Sunny, with a high near 60.
- Monday Night: Clear, with a low around 33.
- Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 49.
- Tuesday Night: Clear, with a low around 27.
- Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 53.