Baseball Roundup

February 28, 2014

Here are scores from some area games Thursday night:

The 9th grade Tate Aggies beat Escambia 10-0 to improve to 3-2. The JV Aggies beat the Gators 6-5 upping their record to 5-2-1.

In the Escambia County (Ala.) Tournament, W.S. Neal beat the Flomaton Hurricanes 16-3 in five innings. Play resumes Friday afternoon at 4:00 as W.S. Neal takes on Escambia County High School (Atmore), and T.R. Miller will play Flomaton at 6:30 p.m.

Dying Man’s Missing Dog Has Been Found

February 27, 2014

The story of Max, the missing St. Bernard from Molino, has come to a bittersweet end…..he has been found and is now safely at home.

Tuesday, we first published the story of Max….he went missing Sunday morning when the wind blew open a gate at his home on North 95A near Highway 97. A desperate  search followed because Max’s owner was at the time in the very end stages of a terminal illness and was thought to only have a few days to live.

The family made the plea for help in finding Max so the owner and Max could be reunited, but the owner passed away Tuesday afternoon before Max was found Wednesday afternoon.

After our story and after it was shared hundreds and hundreds of times on Facebook, a community came together to look for Max.

Here is our original story:

Update: Max’s  owner passed away Tuesday afternoon, a few hours after this story was published. The search for Max continues.

The Molino community is being asked to keep an eye out for Max, a large St. Bernard dog that’s missing.

It’s a bit urgent that Max be returned home quickly…his owner is in the very end stages of a terminal illness and may only have a few days to live. The owner desperately wants to be reunited with Max during his remaining days.

Max was last seen Sunday morning. The wind blew open a gate at his home on North Highway 95A near Highway 97  and he wandered away.

Anyone that sees Max should call Mike at (850) 232-0329 or call (850) 712-2452.

Only Two Citizens Register Barnyard Animals Under Century Ordinance

February 27, 2014

Only two Century citizens voluntarily registered their non-conforming barnyard animals with town hall during a 60 day grace period following the passage of a strict animal control ordinance.

Residents of the 7900 block of Jefferson Avenue registered 2.5 miniature horses, explaining that one is pregnant and due in June, and a resident of the 9300 block of Old Flomaton Road registered one horse, according to town records.

As of December 23, it became illegal to keep a horse, mule, donkey, goat, sheep, or cow within the town limits except in areas that are zoned agricultural or rural residential. Hogs were already prohibited in all areas of the town.

One horse or cow is now allowed for every two acres, one donkey or mule per acre and one goat or sheep per one-half acre. The animals and their pens must be 200 feet or greater from a dwelling or property line.

Anyone with the regulated animals in an area not zoned agricultural or rural residential within the town limits, was required to register their animals at the Century Town Hall within 60 days from the passage of the ordinance. Anyone with nonconforming  animals must apply for and be granted a variance from the town council within six months or get rid of their animals.

Century Mayor Freddie McCall, the town’s planner and an Escambia County Animal Control officer plan to start making site visits Thursday to properties where they believe non-conforming barnyard animals should have been registered to urge compliance.

Pictured inset: Council member Jacke Johnston reads the new animal control ordinance during a December 23 meeting. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.

Florida Man Executed For Killing Trooper With Pipe Bomb

February 27, 2014

Paul Augustus Howell, who was sent to Death Row for the 1992 murder of a Florida Highway Patrol trooper, was executed Wednesday at Florida State Prison near Stark. Howell, 48, was pronounced dead at 6:32 p.m., according to the Gov. Rick Scott’s office.

Howell, who had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich as his final meal, was the 15th Death Row inmate executed in Florida since Scott took office in 2011. There were five executions during former Gov. Charlie Crist’s single term and 21 during the two terms of former Gov. Jeb Bush.

Howell was convicted in January 1995 in the death of FHP trooper Jimmy Fulford during a traffic stop three years earlier. Fulford was killed by a pipe bomb that Howell had put inside a microwave oven and placed in a gift-wrapped package. The bomb was intended for a Marianna woman who could identify Howell, who with his brother was involved in a South Florida drug ring, for a prior murder.

On Feb. 13 of this year, Circuit Judge Angela Dempsey ruled that a new lethal-injection drug used by the state would not violate Howell’s rights. The hearing, held in Jefferson County Circuit Court at the direction of the Florida Supreme Court, focused on the state’s use of midazolam hydrochloride as the first drug in a three-drug cocktail in executions. Midazolam, which the state began using last year, is supposed to anesthetize prisoners before the other drugs are administered.

Howell’s attorneys contended that the inmate has medical conditions that would lead to the drug not working properly, violating the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

FHP: No Positive ID On Fiery Century Crash Victim; Family Holds Memorial Service

February 27, 2014

The Florida Highway Patrol said Wednesday that it may be a month or more before they are able to positively identify the victim of a fiery single vehicle accident early Saturday morning in Century.

The FHP said the  vehicle was burned so badly that no identifying information remained.  The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is also working on the case, attempting to use DNA  for positive identification of the victim’s remains. That process could take several weeks.

Foul play was not suspected in the crash, according the FHP.

Friends and family members have identified the victim as Tara Valinda Ferguson Moore, age 40 of Flomaton.  Moore was a LPN and substitute teacher in the Escambia County (Ala.) School System. A memorial service was held in her honor Wednesday afternoon at the Brewton First Baptist Church.

The burning vehicle was discovered  by a passing Escambia County Sheriff’s deputy about 3:55 a.m. on Fannie Road just northeast of Campbell Road, across from the Happy Valley Holiness Church.

After the Century Station of Escambia Fire Rescue extinguished the blaze, the victim was discovered in the driver’s seat area of the vehicle.

The Florida Highway Patrol has identified the vehicle as an unknown year model Toyota sedan.

The driver was apparently headed east on Fannie Road when they failed to negotiate a curve, ran off the roadway, down an embankment and struck several trees on the shore of a gravel lake. A post-crash fire completely gutted the vehicle.

The Florida Highway Patrol was unable to identify the driver of the vehicle at the scene. Further details have not yet been released as the FHP continues their investigation.

Pictured top and inset: One person was killed in this fiery crash in Century early Saturday morning. Pictured below: The vehicle shortly after the fire department extinguished the blaze. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

Deputies Seek Two Arsonists

February 27, 2014

The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is looking for at least two people  that intentionally set fire to the Alfred Washburn Center at 31 Murphy Lane in Pensacola back on December 9.. The facility provides food, clothing, shelter, and other items to the homeless population in the area.

At least two people were involved with this arson, according to investigators.

Wednesday, investigators released a photo that shows one suspect in the case.

Anyone with information on the crime is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP. An additional 5,000 reward is available through the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

UF: Consumer Confidence Remains Stable In Florida

February 27, 2014

The state’s consumer confidence held steady the first two months of the year, according to a University of Florida report. On a scale that ranges from two to 150, confidence among Floridians sat at 78 in February, the same as in January and a point higher than the final month of 2013, according to numbers released Tuesday.

“We expected little change to the February index given the agreement in Congress that averted another shutdown and debate over the debt ceiling,” Chris McCarty, director of UF’s Survey Research Center in the Bureau of Economic and Business Research, said in a news release.

The monthly survey found that Floridians have slightly increased faith that the U.S. economy will improve over the next year, are more pessimistic about their personal finances, yet believe that now is the best time since before the recession to buy big-ticket items such as automobiles.

by The News Service of Florida

Ken Repine

February 27, 2014

Ken Repine, born November 24, 1944, in Dayton, Ohio was healed of his cancer at 4 p.m. on February 25, 2014, when he entered the Gates of Heaven.

He was met at the Gates by his father and mother, Frank and Ruby Repine and his sister, Joyce, who passed away as an infant and his father-in-law, Johnnie Kinsley.

Loved ones left to cherish Ken’s memories include his wife of 45 years, Wanda Kinsley Repine; his two children Michelle Repine Bond (Peter) and Mike Repine (Jennifer) along with the “magnificent seven”; Jackson and Jenna Bond, Brenn, Kira, Zane, Cole and Reid Repine. Ken had many roles in life; son, brother, husband and daddy but the role he cherished the most was that of Papa to his seven grandchildren.

He is also survived by his sisters; Pam Repine Elmore (Floyd) and Pat Repine Kieft (Bob) and by Wanda’s family: Harry Kinsley (Gayle), Donna Phillips (Bruce) and Dora Thomley (Wayne) and his mother-in-law, Virginia Kinsley.

Ken retired from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department in 2003 after 30 years. He truly enjoyed serving and protecting the people of this county. Ken’s retirement gave him many opportunities to cheer on his grandchildren at their many sporting events. He also greatly enjoyed bass fishing.

Ken was a member of First Baptist of Cottage Hill and Pensacola Hawg Hunters Bass Club and a former member of Panhandle Bass Club.

The family will receive friends at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North, 1000 S. Hwy 29, Cantonment, on Saturday, March 1, 2014, from 2-4 p.m.

The family has asked that anyone wishing to pay respects attend the visitation. Ken will be cremated and there will be no funeral service. The family requests that instead of sympathy cards you bring a letter with a fond memory of Ken to place in his fishing basket. -

Dean Anthony Lindberg

February 27, 2014

Dean Anthony Lindberg, 54 of Bay Minette, passed away February 26, 2014, in Mobile.

He was born June 23, 1959, in Detroit, Michigan, to Charles and Theresa Mills Lindberg. He was a retired Army Ranger and attended Grace Valley Baptist Church in Cantonmen. He was currently a police officer with the Atmore Police Department and had worked for the Kent Washington Police Department and the NAS Police Department. He was preceded in death by his father Charles Lindberg and his brother Daniel Lindberg.

He is survived by his wife of 14 years, Mary Ann Lindberg of Bay Minette, his mother Theresa Grzesiowski; two sons Terry (Kate) Lindberg and Adam Lindberg both of Kent, Washington; a daughter, HunterRose Lindberg of Bay Minette; one brother Thomas Lindberg of Milford, Michigan; three sisters Nancy Kearny of Romeo, MI; Elizabeth Gorka of Las Vegas, NV, and Mary Ann Gilben of Fayetteville, N.C.  and a grandson Luke Lindberg.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, March 1, 2014, at 11 a.m. from the Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home with Bro. Don Neese officiating. Burial will follow in Ray’s Chapel Baptist Church Cemetery with full military honors.

Active pallbearers will be the Atmore Police Department.

Visitation will be held Saturday, March 1, 2014, from 9:30 a.m. until an 11 a.m. service time  from the Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home.

Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Ann Marie Hanks

February 27, 2014

Mrs. Ann Marie Hanks, 72, passed away on Tuesday, February 25, 2014, in Gulfport, Mississippi.

Mrs. Hanks was a native of Hazel Park, Michigan, and a resident of Bratta for the past 20 years. Mrs. Hanks attended the Bratt Baptist Church. Her husband, Horace Hanks, precedes her in death.

She is survived by her two daughters, Danielle (Byron) Mosley of Lottie, AL, and Michelle Hockett (Michael Long) of Gulfport, MS; four brothers, Donald Cates of Lake Stewart, FL, Mark Cates of Lake Stewart, FL, Edward Cates of Michigan and Tom Cates of Lake Stewart, FL; one sister, Christina Johnson of Lake Stewart, FL and five grandchildren, Jacob (Day) Harrison, Cian Mosley, Mollie Hockett, Abbie Hockett and Lauren Long.

Funeral services will be Saturday, March 1, 2014, at 4 p.m. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home with Dr. Larry Patterson officiating.

Visitation will be Saturday, March 1, 2014,.  from 2 p.m. until he 4 p.m. service time at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home in Atmore.

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