Scott Signs Death Warrant For 1987 Killer
February 14, 2014
Gov. Rick Scott signed a death warrant Thursday for Robert Lavern Henry, who murdered two women at a fabric store in Deerfield Beach more than 26 years ago. The execution is scheduled for March 20 at Florida State Prison near Starke.
Henry, 55, who has been on Death Row since 1988, was convicted in the deaths of Phyllis Harris and Janet Thermidor.
When police and firefighters responded to a call on Nov. 1, 1987, the women were found in the store’s restrooms. Harris was tied up and dead in the men’s room. Thermidor, located in the women’s restroom, was conscious despite a head wound and burns to more than 90 percent of her body. Thermidor stated that Henry, the store’s maintenance man, hit her on the head with a hammer, left with the store’s money, only to return to douse her in a liquid before setting her on fire. Thermidor died the next day.
A year later, Henry was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, one count of armed robbery, and one count of arson.
The warrant comes a day after the execution of Juan Carlos Chavez, who committed the notorious 1995 murder of 9-year-old Jimmy Ryce in Miami-Dade County. Chavez was the 13th Death Row inmate executed in Florida since Scott took office in 2011.
Also Wednesday, a North Florida circuit judge ruled that a new lethal-injection drug would not violate the rights of Paul Augustus Howell who is scheduled for execution on Feb. 26. Howell was convicted in the 1992 killing of a state Trooper James Fulford in Jefferson County.
Dove Award Winning Couple To Perform Saturday During Miss NHS Pageant
February 14, 2014
Husband and wife Dove Award winners Candi and Jonathan Shelton will provide the entertainment during Saturday night’s Miss Northview pageant.
Candi Shelton is a singer, songwriter, voiceover artist and published author based in Atlanta. For the last 15 years, she has worked with a long list of artists, served as a worship leader with Passion Conferences for six years and performed on may of Integrity Music’s collaborative worship albums.
Candi wrote and performed the title track on the Glory Revealed album, a multi-artist collaboration with Mac Powell of Third Day, Shane & Shane and Brian Littrell of The Backstreet Boys. Her work on the project earned her a Dove Award.
She is a Northview High School graduate and a former Miss NHS.
Her husband Jonathan is an Atlanta born and raised musician. A career guitar player, he has been writing and performing since high school as part of many local Atlanta bands and performing at many of Atlanta’s large music festivals.
Jonathan has shared the stage with Fuel, Edwin McCain, Brand New Immortals, Sister Hazel, Live, Maroon Five, and many others. Jonathan was a singer and songwriter for the Glory Revealed 2 Album, which garnered him a Dove Award and included artists such as Sara Evans, Bear Rinehart of NeedToBreathe and Mac Powell of Third Day.
Candi and Jonathan Shelton’s performance is included in the price of admission to the Miss Northview pageant at 7 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are available at the Northview front office.
Rep. Jeff Miller Honored For Championing Employment Of Disabled
February 14, 2014
U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller received the AbilityOne Congressional Champion Award Thursday in recognition of his support for the employment of people with significant disabilities.
Richard “Micky” Gazaway, executive director, South Region, SourceAmerica, presented the award on behalf of AbilityOne, a program that leverages the purchasing power of the federal government to promote employment for people who have significant disabilities.
The AbilityOne Congressional Champion Award is given to elected federal policymakers who support the AbilityOne Program and employment opportunities for people with significant disabilities.
Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Franklin Louis Dillow
February 14, 2014
Franklin Louis Dillow, 83, of Cantonment, passed away Wednesday, February12, 2014, at a local hospital. Frank was a member of Cottage Hill Assembly of God Church where he served as church treasurer and also prepared the church bulletins. He was currently serving as president of the Board of Cottage Hill Water Association. He proudly served his country for 24 years in the United States Navy.
He is preceded in death by his wife, Shirley M. Dillow; son, Robert F. Dillow; and his daughter, Sandra Lee Dillow.
He is survived by his daughters, Juanita Daniels (Bill) and Linda Buck (James); sons, Franklin Dillow (Melissa), Mike Dillow and Bruce Dillow (Anna); daughter-in-law, Debbie Dillow; 22 grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren, 2 great-great-grandchildren; sister, Shirley; half-brother, Raymond; and several nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Covenant Hospice in Franklin Dillow’s memory.
Visitation will be held Monday, February 17, 2014, from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North.
Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, February 18, 2014, at 11 a.m. with Reverend Ron McGlothren officiating at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North.
Interment will follow at Cottage Hill Assembly of God Church Cemetery.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home North is entrusted with arrangements.
Annie Jewel Jones
February 14, 2014
Annie Jewel Jones, 91, of Walnut Hill, passed away Monday, February 10, 2014, at her residence. She was a homemaker, born in Escambia County, Fla., on March 11, 1922 to the late William A. and Annie Wasten Luker. She was a member of Bratt Assembly of God. She is preceded in death by her husband, Jesse Jones; son, Kenneth Jones; grandsons, Damon Jones and J.J. Jones; two brothers, W.J. Luker and Carlton Luker; and one sister, Gladyne Graham.
Survivors are her two sons, George R. (Lois) Jones of Pensacola Beach and James E. (Peggy) Jones of Thonotosassa, Fla.; two brothers, Mex (Cozett) Luker and Edwin (Beverly) Luker; one sister, Janice Shelton; five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Services were held Thursday, February 13, 2014, at 11 a.m. from Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Thron Collingsworth officiating.
Interment will follow in Oak Grove Baptist Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Covenant Hospice.
Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home, Inc, is in charge of all arrangements.
Nita Marie Thompson
February 14, 2014
Nita Marie Thompson, 78, of Bratt, passed away Thursday, February 13, 2014, in Century. She was an accountant. She was born in Walnut Hill on May 3, 1935, to the late Walter and Ida Locke Garrett. She attended Liberty Church.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Willie “Buck” Thompson; son, Randall Thompson; one brother and three sisters.
Survivors include her two sons, Gary (Donna) Thompson of MS and Greg Thompson of Arkansas; two daughters, Charlotte (Travis) Lowery of Walnut Hill and Sharon Thompson of Milton; two brothers, David (Ronell) Garrett of Walnut Hill and Justin (Carolyn) Garrett of Atmore; eight grandchildren and thirteen great-grandchildren.
A Special thanks to Century Care Center.
Services will be Saturday, February 15, 2014 at 2:30 p.m. from Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Tim Wetzel officiating.
Interment will follow in Godwin Cemetery.
Family will receive friends Saturday, February 15, 2014, at Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home from 1:30p.m. until service time at 2:30 p.m.
Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home, Inc is in charge of all arrangements.
Parasailing Regulations Get Launched In Florida Senate
February 14, 2014
An effort to impose minimum regulations on the parasailing industry, aided by video of a ghastly accident last summer that went viral on the Internet, is starting to get off the ground in the state Legislature.
The Senate Regulated Industries Committee on Thursday unanimously backed a measure (SB 320) that sponsor Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach, said should lessen the chance Florida will again find itself showcased worldwide as a risky place for amusements. It would prohibit parasailing operations when sustained winds are 20 mph or higher or when lightning storms are within seven miles.
The video involved a parasailing accident last summer in Panama City Beach that seriously injured two Indiana teens.
“When you see those storm clouds coming up (on the video), and those two young girls slammed against buildings and balconies, and then going up against power lines and finally landing against on an SUV, you think why is this happening,” Sachs said after the committee hearing. “That dramatized the need for safety regulations and I think that, unfortunately, that had to happen before a lot of people said, ‘You know what, we need to do this’.”
Similar measures — opposed by the parasailing industry mostly because of increased insurance costs — failed in the last six years.
The House version of the bill (HB 347) was unanimously supported last week by the Business and Professional Regulation Subcommittee, and it is now headed to the Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee.
“We are not trying to punish the industry. … We only want to make this a safe activity,” said Rep. Gwyndolen Clarke-Reed, D-Deerfield Beach, the sponsor of the House bill.
The proposal — named the “White-Miskell Act” — was aided Thursday by appearances at the Capitol by Alexis Fairchild, who was one of the two Indiana teens injured July 1, and by family members of Amber May White, 15, of Belleview, who died in 2007 after a line snapped on a parasail, resulting in her hitting the roof of a hotel.
“If this law had been passed when it was brought up the first time I wouldn’t be standing here,” Fairchild, who suffered head trauma and had to undergo surgery to her spine, told Senate committee members. “If it was passed the second time, I wouldn’t be standing here. I don’t want another person to be standing here.”
Shannon Kraus, White’s mother, added that lawmakers have a “moral obligation” to approve the legislation.
The other part of the bill is named after Kathleen Miskell, a 28-year-old Connecticut woman who died in 2012 after she fell from a harness while parasailing over the ocean off Pompano Beach.
The measure has the support of people in the industry, said Larry Meddock, executive director of the Water Sports Industry Association.
“They’ve accepted the fact that they need to have best practices to try to do a better job,” Meddock said.
Meddock said operators have come around to “reality” after being advised by the U.S. Coast Guard that if regulations backed by people in the industry are not in place, the federal agency would impose rules, due to the “frequency of incidents” in recent years.
“That message was sent out loud and clear,” Meddock said.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission estimates there are about 100 active commercial operators in Florida, most along the coasts, with one at Walt Disney World on Bay Lake in Orange County.
From Jan. 1, 2001 through Oct. 30, 2013, the state has recorded 21 parasailing incidents that have resulted in 23 injuries and six fatalities. Nearly half were due in part to wind conditions, with others because of equipment or operator error.
The legislative measure would require owners of vessels engaged in commercial parasailing to carry at least $1 million in bodily injury liability coverage, for the boats to be equipped with a functional VHF marine transceivers and separate electronic devices capable of providing access to weather forecasts and current weather conditions, and for operators to record the weather whenever on the water with passengers.
Putting the information in a log was among the hurdles that have kept past efforts to impose regulations on the industry from advancing in the Legislature, Sachs noted.
“It’s been a hurdle, but I figure if they can swipe a credit card, they can log the weather,” Sachs said.
The effort to impose regulations was aided last summer when Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, advised those in the parasailing industry to talk to Sachs after he heard from constituents who had witnessed the accident involving Fairchild and her friend Sidney Good.
During a meeting in November with about 250 owners and operators, Meddock said, nobody objected when asked if they had a problem with the proposed legislation.
The measure doesn’t impose regulations on the types of equipment used by parasailing operators, but Sachs said the insurance regulation should force those in the industry to demonstrate they are up to date on safety to get their policies.
The proposal still must get support from the Senate Commerce and Tourism and Community Affairs committees.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Sanders Courtney
February 14, 2014
Sanders Courtney, age 73, of the New York community in Chumuckla, passed on February 10, 2014. He was a plumber most of his life until he retired. He loved fishing, driving around, going to see friends and sitting around the campfire with everyone. He was preceded in death by his parents, Ivory and Woodrow Courtney; sisters, Sady (Arnold) Enfinger Maxine Courtney, Evelyn Lowery, and Juanita Bush; brothers, Gene (Virtis) Courtney, Wilson Courtney and Alton Adkisson.
He is survived by his loving, devoted wife of 40 years, Joyce Courtney; son, Lamanuel (Kandy) Courtney; daughter, Elizabeth (Tim) Harrelson; grandchildren, Ashley, Sara, Makayla, Cordale and Jackson; one great-grandchild on the way, Lucas Barber; sister, Emmagene and numerous nieces, nephews, family and friends.
Funeral services were held Thursday, February 13, 2014m, with Brother Bobby Carnley officiating services.
Burial was held at Pine Level Baptist Church Cemetery.
Active pallbearers were Jonathan Scott, George Tedder, Bobby Adkisson, Mike Adkisson, Daniel Madden, and Jerome Lail.
Honorary pallbearers are Jonathan Holland and Wayne Hawthorne.
The family would like to thank Roxanne Dunsford and all the hospice nurses. They were very sweet and informative. They did a remarkable job. They would also like to thank Dr. David Smith; he has been there for us through everything. A special thanks to Angela, one of the nurses, she went beyond the means of a nurse. Angela loved listening to stories about him and the family. She always made sure he was comfortable and she would make us laugh to keep us more at ease about the situation.
Jay Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
John Lee Branson, Sr.
February 14, 2014
John Lee Branson Sr., age 66 of Jay, passed away on Tuesday, February 11, 2014, at his daughter’s home in Century. He was a lifelong resident of Jay. He enjoyed going to Farmer’s Market every morning to drink his coffee and talk to his friends. John enjoyed riding his motorcycle and going fishing with his family. He also enjoyed eating Jan’s “tater” soup. He was a loving husband, father, grandpaw and great-grandpaw.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Walter Sr. and Thelma Lee Branson; two sisters, Mary Ann Carnley and Ella Mae Branson; one brother, Major Branson; two nieces; one nephew and daughter-in-law, Annette Branson.
John is survived by his wife, Barbara Ann Branson; five children, Betty Ann (Jeffery) Kiser of Century, Danny Lee (Chris) Branson of Brewton, John Branson Jr. (Donna) of Jay, Michelle (Roy) Johnson of Jay, and Verlena (Brian) Kennedy of Spanish Fort; nine grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren; three brothers, Walter, Paul and Bascomb Branson and numerous nieces, nephews and friends.
A visitation will be held on Saturday, February 15, 2014, from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. at Jay Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, February 16, 2014, at Jay Funeral Home with Brother Howard officiating services.
Burial will follow at Cora Baptist Church Cemetery.
Active pallbearers will be Brendon Dannelley, Jeffery Kiser, Roy Johnson, Betty Kiser, Brian Kennedy, John Branson Jr. and Danny Branson.
Honorary pallbearers will be Pam Bauldree, Jeff Potoczek, Kip Nowling, Cory Fuston, Stewart Tidwell, and Shane Frayley.
Jay Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Phariba Myra Norris Sampson Rogers
February 14, 2014
Phariba Myra Norris Sampson Rogers, 88, of Atmore, passed away Tuesday, February 11, 2014, in Atmore. She was a homemaker born in Lyman, MS on December 19, 1925, to the late Kelon A. and Buna E. Hardee Norris.
Survivors include five brothers, A.J. Norris of San Antonio, TX, Howard B. Norris of Phoenixville, PA, W.H. “Bill” Norris of Ontario, Canada, Edgar D. Norris of Atmore and David L. Norris of Salisbury, NC; two sisters, Edna Emmons of Century and Martha Miller of Mobile; and numerous nephews, nieces, cousins and friends.
Graveside services will be Saturday, February 15, 2014, at 11 a.m. in Oak Hill Cemetery with Bro. Edgar D. Norris officiating.
Interment will follow in Oak Hill Cemetery.
Active pallbearers are, Terry Norris, Steve McGill, Carl Emmons, Roger Emmons, Chris Miller and Webb Nall.
Family will receive friends, Saturday, February 15, 2014, at Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m.
Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home, Inc., is in charge of all arrangements.