George Edward “Eddie” Parker
October 16, 2013
George Edward “Eddie” Parker, 72 of Walnut Hill, passed away Tuesday, October 15, 2013, in Walnut Hill. He was a truck driver for over 50 years. He was born in Poarch on August 8, 1941, to the late Lawrence Gay and Eula Webb Johnson Parker.
He had a great sense of humor, loved his family, especially his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was a avid outdoorsmen.
He is preceded in death by two brothers, Arnold Parker and Raymond Parker and one sister, Ruby Varner.
Survivors include his wife, Janice Parker; one son, John A. (Rhonda) Cannon; one daughter, Gwen Parker all of Walnut Hill; one brother, Curtis A. Parker; one sister, Augusta P. Hopkins both of Orange Beach, Ala.; four grandchildren, Brittany Tutton, Kelsey Tutton Peacock, Caren Cannon and Parker Corey; three great-grandchildren, Maddix Tutton, Roper Peacock, and Bristol Peacock and numerous family and friends.
Services will be Friday, October 18, 2013m, at 10 a.m. from Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Joe Gipson officiating.
Interment will follow in Pine Barren Cemetery.
Family will receive friends, Thursday, October 17, 2013, at Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m.
Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home is entrusted with all arrangements.
Escambia Man Claims Half Million Dollar Scratch-Off Prize
October 16, 2013
An Escambia County man claimed a half million dollar scratch-off game prize from the Florida Lottery Tuesday in Tallahassee. Robin Canady, 57, purchased his winning $500,000 Gold Rush Tripler ticket from Happy Nick’s at 2499 North Palafox Street. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Florida Executes Convicted Killer
October 16, 2013
Convicted murderer William Frederick Happ was put to death Tuesday evening at Florida State Prison near Starke.
Happ, 51, was convicted in the May 24, 1986, murder of Angela Crowley in Crystal River. Crowley, 21, was abducted while making a call from a pay phone in a parking lot and was taken by Happ to the Cross Florida Barge Canal, where she was beaten, sexually battered and strangled to death with her own clothes. By the time he was arrested for the murder, Happ had begun serving a prison sentence in California for an unrelated armed robbery and kidnapping.
The execution marked the first in which the Department of Corrections used midazolam hydrochloride instead of pentobarbital sodium as part of the triple-drug cocktail used in executions. The drug, the first of three injections, renders the inmate unconscious.
States, including Florida, have struggled to maintain stockpiles of pentobarbital sodium because Denmark-based manufacturer Lundbeck refuses to sell it directly to corrections agencies for use in executions and has ordered its distributors to also stop supplying the drug for lethal-injection purposes.
Supporters, Opponents Of Common Core Clash At Hearing
October 16, 2013
Supporters and opponents of the controversial “Common Core” education standards clashed Tuesday in Tampa during the opening stop in a three-day round of public hearings across the state.
Those speaking at the hearing were closely divided among supporters and opponents of the standards, despite conservative and tea-party activists’ concerns that Common Core represents a vast federal overreach into local education. About four dozen states have adopted the standards, which were created in a state-led initiative but have been promoted by federal officials and education reform advocates.
The hearings were part of Gov. Rick Scott’s plan for dealing with the politically volatile issue. Scott has already begun distancing the state from a consortium developing tests for Common Core, and has suggested the hearing could come up with ways to amend the academic benchmarks.
The meeting featured an at-time raucous audience, with those on both sides of the issue loudly applauding those who agreed with them.
Several teachers showed up at the meeting to defend Common Core from criticism that the standards are academically less rigorous than the state’s current expectations of students or are politically motivated.
“Common Core is providing a more rigorous and engaging classroom environment. … Common Core is pushing the students to think beyond a textbook,” said Melissa Castro, an 18-year educator with Hillsborough County.
The teachers and coaches said students were better able to grasp the material under Common Core, and were performing better.
But opponents assailed Common Core as potentially wasteful and harmful. Some labeled the changes “education without representation.” They said the new standards were almost incoherent and difficult for some students.
Lori Baxley, who has two children, spoke emotionally about how her son, a fourth-grader who previously made straight As, was struggling with his math homework. That made her speak up, Baxley said, not any political considerations.
“The notion this issue is political baffles and frustrates me,” she said during the hearing, which was webcast across the state by The Florida Channel..
But electoral politics did occasionally intrude. Mike Weston, a parent, teacher and candidate for the school board in Hillsborough County, said money should be sent to the classroom instead of spent implementing the standards and any related tests.
“Let’s give teachers a real raise, not Governor Scott’s mysterious vanishing raise,” Weston said.
Scott’s much-touted pay raise for educators, approved by the Legislature this spring, has been bogged down in negotiations between local school districts and teachers’ unions.
Two more hearings are scheduled on the issue, with one slated Wednesday in Davie and the third set for Thursday in Tallahassee.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Burger Franchise Wins Century Chamber’s Community Pride Award
October 16, 2013
The Century Chamber of Commerce has named Whataburger as the winner of the 
October Community Pride Award. The fast food restaurant currently employes 29 people. Pictured top: Whataburger in Century. NorthEscambia.com file photo. Pictured inset: Whataburger General Manager accepted the award at a recent Century Chamber board meeting. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Teresa Moore
October 16, 2013
Mrs. Teresa Moore, 48, passed away on Sunday, October 13, 2013, in Pensacola.
Mrs. Moore was a native of Martinsville, Indiana and had resided in McDavid since 1983. Mrs. Moore was loved by her family and nice to everyone she meet. She attended My Fathers Vineyard Church.
She is survived by her mother, Sarah Moore of Bratt; husband, Robert Simmons of McDavid; two daughters, Jacqueline Moes of Jacksonville and Sarah Moore of Cantonment; one brother, David Moore of Bratt; one sister, Nellie Handrip of Bratt; and three grandchildren, Corban Moore, Callie Moes and Bella Cook.
Funeral services will be Saturday, October 19, 2013, at 2 p.m. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home with Bro. Wayne Marshall officiating.
Burial will follow at Ray’s Chapel Cemetery.
Visitation will be held Saturday, October 19, 2013, from 11 a.m. until funeral time at the Petty- Eastside Chapel Funeral Home.
Pallbearers will be Wayne Moore, Brian Moore, Michael Moore, John Handrop, Patrick Griffis and Ricky Simmons.
Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Homes, LLC in charge of all arrangements.
Edward “Red” Watts
October 16, 2013
Mr. Edward “Red” Watts, 82, passed away on Tuesday, October 15, 2013, in Pensacola.
Mr. Watts was a native and resident of Byrneville. Mr. Watts was a veteran of the Korean War and the U.S. Navy. He was a member of the Sheet Metal Union and the Creek Indians. His parents, Lawrence and Bama Watts and one sister, Mildred Burkett precede him in death.
Survivors include his wife, Mary Watts of Byrneville; three sons, Donald Beals of Flomaton, Michael Beals of Byrneville and Jimmy Castonguay of Baker; two daughters, Doris (Mike) Luther of Milton and Deanna (Howie) Gillis of Milton; eleven grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.
Graveside services will be held Friday, October 18, 2013, at 10 a.m. at the Byrneville Methodist Cemetery with Rev. Eric Bryan officiating.
Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Homes, is in charge of all arrangements.
Katie Lynette Lambeth
October 16, 2013
Mrs. Katie Lynette Lambeth, age 69 of Flomaton, passed away on Wednesday, October 15, 2013, at Sacred Heart Hospital.
Mrs. Lambeth was a native of Evergreen, Ala., and a lifetime resident of the Flomaton community where she worked as a dietary cook at Century Care Center. She was a member of Moyeville Baptist Church and was preceded in death by her parents, Howard Lamar and Katie Lorene Butler Blackmon; sisters, Loree Andrews and Janice Conrad; and brother, Lamar Blackmon.
Survivors include her husband, Leland Lambeth of Flomaton; sons, Leland Keith (Shennon) Lambeth and Eric (Daphne) Lambeth, both of Flomaton; daughter, Shannon (Tommy) Pettis of Brewton; sister, Erlene (Jr.) Boutwell and Marie (William) Bell, both of Flomaton, and Faye (Charles) Moye of Decatur, AL; nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be held on Thursday, October 17, 2013, from 6 p.m until 8 p.m. at Flomaton Funeral Home Chapel.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, October 18, 2013, at 11 a.m. at Flomaton Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Mike Hutto officiating.
Interment will be at Traveler’s Rest Cemetery in Flomaton.
Pallbearers will be Josh Jernigan, Kevin Browder, Tony Bell, Larry Boutwell, Dwayne Conrad, Ricky Moye, Andy Moye, Bryan Browder.
Photos: Visit The Pumpkin Patch
October 16, 2013
Looking for a pumpkin? The Allen Memorial United Methodist Church Men’s Pumpkin Patch is open once again this year at the corner of Highway 29 and Neal Road. Pumpkins of all shapes and sizes are available, with some priced as low as $1. The pumpkin patch is open daily from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.
Organizers said hundreds of pumpkins have been sold far this year; another delivery is expected by the weekend.
The church’s Third Annual Fall Festival will be held at the pumpkin patch on Saturday, October 26 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. There will be free activities for the children, local musical entertainment, food, baked goods and more. Admission is free.
Pictured: The Allen Memorial Pumpkin Patch in Cantonment. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Driver Charged With Century Traffic Death Sentenced
October 15, 2013
A Brewton man that was charged with the traffic death of a woman in Century a year ago was sentenced to probation Monday.
A charge of vehicular homicide was dropped against 53-year old James A. Richburg, and he pleaded no contest Monday to a charge of reckless driving causing serious bodily injury. Judge Jan Shackelford withheld adjudication as she sentenced Richburg to four years probation.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 50-year old Sara R. Daw of Flomaton was southbound on Highway 29 at Hudson Hill Road on October 10, 2012, when she stopped for a school bus that was stopped in the northbound lanes to pick up children. Richburg was southbound in a 2008 GMC Sierra pickup on Highway 29 when he failed to stop and rear-ended Daw’s 2001 Chevrolet pickup.
Daw was transported by Escambia County EMS to Jay Hospital where she died later that morning. Richburg received only minor injuries.
Shackelford also sentenced Richburg to 100 hours of community service, 20 hours of which must be spent speaking to youth about distracted driving and speeding. If he complies with the terms of his probation, Richburg may apply to have it terminated after two years.
Pictured top and left: The driver of this white pickup, 50-year old Sara R. Daw of Flomaton died as a result of injuries received in a traffic crash the morning of October 10, 2012, in Century. Pictured below: The driver of this pickup, 53-year old James Richburg of Brewton rear-ended Daw’s pickup. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
