Local Boys, Girls State Attendees Honored
July 16, 2014
A reception was held Tuesday night at the American Legion Post 90 in Atmore to honor local students that attended Alabama Boys State and Alabama Girls State last month.
Recognized were: Austin Cunningham and Tristan Portwood from Northview High School; Scott Brantley and Nate Smith from Escambia Academy; Brooke Bell and Jacob Esser from Flomaton High School; and Christin Simpkins, Ben Hubert and Rodrick Felder from Escambia County High School.
Local students attending the Boys and Girls State program each year are sponsored by the American Legion and American Legion Ladies Auxiliary.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Gulf Coast Storm 12U Takes Second In Gulf Coast Nationals
July 16, 2014
The Gulf Coast Storm 12U travel baseball team placed second in the 11-team Nations Gulf Coast Elite National Championships this past weekend at the NEP ballpark.
After losing their first bracket game in the double elimination tournament, the Gulf Coast Storm battled back to win five straight. The Storm won the first championship game, forcing a second winner-take-all game.
The Gulf Coast Storm will play their last tournament of the year this weekend in Biloxi. Gulf Coast Storm team members are from the Pace, Pensacola and Cantonment areas.
Pictured: (front, L-R) Trevor Norton, Adam Nisewonger, Grant Gill, Cody Gavin, John Pinette, Hunter Smith, (back, L-R) Parker Tubb, Cole Fryman, Cameron Bailey, T.J. McCants, Timmy Williams, Sam Shackle and Chase Tolbert. Not pictured are Head Coach Matt Faust and Assistant Coach Mike Norton. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Lawrence Douglas Lassiter
July 16, 2014
Lawrence Douglas Lassiter, 70 of Atmore, passed away Wednesday, July 16, 2014, in Mobile. He was born in Atmore on August 28, 1943, to the late Chester and Lucille Wall Lassiter. He was a farmer, owner and operator of Lassiter Trucking Company and was a retired multi-craft maintenance technician from International Paper Company with 35 years of service. He was a Past Master of the Huxford Lodge #779 and a 32nd Degree Mason and an avid Alabama fan.
He was preceded in death by his parents and siblings, Cubie Dean Cook, Charles Lassiter and Bobby Lassiter.
He is survived by his children, Tim Lassiter of Nokomis, AL; Roxanne (David) Martinie of Uriah, and Rocky (Troy) Smith of Cerola, AL; eight grandchildren; three great-grandchildren and a special companion “Reece.”
Funeral services will be held Friday, July 18, 2014, at 10 a.m. from the Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Willie Oglesby officiating.
Burial will follow in McCullough Cemetery with Masonic Honors.
Visitation will be held Thursday, July 17, 2014 from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. from the Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home.
Flowers will be accepted but donations can be made to the American Cancer Society or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Dorothy D. Hadley
July 16, 2014
Mrs. Dorothy D. Hadley, 87, passed away on Monday, July 14, 2014, in Atmore.
Mrs. Hadley was a native of Lottie, Alabama and a resident of Perdido for most of her life. Mrs. Hadley was member of Springs of Life Church and Pleasant Plains Holiness Church. Her father, Wesley Brown; mother, Ethel Brown; husband, Tink Hadley; brother, William “Bill” Brown; and two sisters, Merle Stewart and Nora Ayers precede her in death.
Survivors include her daughter, Eula Price of Atmore; two brothers, John D. (Lucy) Brown and Joel (Shelby) Brown all of Perdido; five sisters, Estelle Morris of Denham Springs, LA, Opal Paul of Phoenix City, AL, Shirley Ward of Mobile, Christine Patterson of Bay Minette and Bobbie Bryars of Milton; two grandchildren, Vincent Ramer of Bay Minette and Adam Ramer of Wilmer, AL and six great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be Friday, July 18, 2014, at 2 p.m. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home with Bro. James Peacock and Sis. Thursa Long officiating.
Burial will follow at the Bryars-McGill Cemetery.
Visitation will be held Friday, July 18, 2014, from 12 noon until service time at 2 p.m. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home.
Pallbearers will be Kainnan Pintarelli, Roger Hadley, John D. Brown, William Stewart, Thomas Dean and Robert Chancery.
Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Homes is in charge of all arrangements.
Woman Indirectly Struck By Lightning In Nokomis
July 15, 2014
A 20-year old woman was indirectly struck by lightning Tuesday afternoon in Nokomis, FL.
The woman was outside a home in the 6100 block of North Pineville Road, just north of Nokomis Road, when lightning struck a nearby fence or other object about 3 p.m.
The woman was barefoot at the time and suffered a shock from the lightning strike. She was reportedly complaining of a loss of sensation in her legs. She was transported to Atmore Community Hospital with injuries that were not considered serious.
Atmore Ambulance and the Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue responded to the call.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Deputies Seek Suspect In Walgreens Armed Robbery
July 15, 2014
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a white male that robbed a Walgreens store at gunpoint this morning on Mobile Highway.
The man entered the store about 8:20 a.m., pulled a weapon and robbed the store of an undisclosed amount of narcotics. He fled in an older model white SUV.
Anyone with information on the robbery is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP or the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620.
Showers, Thunderstorms Continue Tonight
July 15, 2014
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tuesday Night Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 7pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 70. West wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
- Wednesday A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Wednesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 62. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Thursday Sunny, with a high near 90. North wind around 5 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon..
- Thursday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 65. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
- Friday A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 92. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
- Friday Night A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. South wind around 5 mph.
- Saturday A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 90. South wind around 5 mph.
- Saturday Night A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
- Sunday A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 89.
- Sunday Night A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72.
- Monday A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 92.
- Monday Night A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 72.
- Tuesday A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92.
FDOT: Highway 97 Collapse Repair Costs Over $100K; Work Continues This Week
July 15, 2014
The price tag is in for repairs underway to a collapsed road shoulder on Highway 97.
The total contract for repairs was issued to Scott Bridge, Inc., for $102,577, according to Tanya Branton, public information specials for the Florida Department of Transportation.
Repairs are expected to be complete by the end of this week or the very beginning of next week. Sometime in the next few days, traffic on Highway 97 will be restricted to one lane through the work area, which is near the South Highway 99 intersection – about one mile south of Ernest Ward Middle School.
Back on May 15, the shoulder of Highway 97 collapsed in an existing 50-foot deep gully after a drainage pipe separated and undermined the shoulder. About a month later, the situation worsened, with part of the paved shoulder falling into the hole, prompting temporary repairs by the Florida Department of Transportation. Crews used sandbags to shore up the shoulder on temporary basis back on June 13.
Since the damage occurred after the flooding event that led to a presidential disaster declaration for Escambia County, repair costs for Highway 97 will not be reimbursed by FEMA.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Ernest Ward Admin Office Closed Until July 21
July 15, 2014
The administrative building and offices at Ernest Ward Middle School will be closed for about a week. The administrative building at Ernest Ward Middle school closed Tuesday afternoon. The building will reopen at 8 a.m. on Monday, July 21. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Lawyer Says Big Money Lined Up For Medical Marijuana Campaign
July 15, 2014
Orlando trial lawyer John Morgan said he has pledges of up to $6 million — not including his own substantial checkbook — to back a proposed constitutional amendment going before voters in November that would allow doctors to order marijuana for patients with debilitating illnesses.
Morgan, who largely bankrolled the petition effort that put Amendment 2 on the ballot, said Monday he is prepared to again unfold his own wallet to convince voters to support the proposal which, like all constitutional questions, requires 60 percent approval for passage.
“We’ve got people coming from all over America to help us,” Morgan said in a telephone interview from New Hampshire. “I’ve got at least $6 million committed as of today, without more money from me. I believe we’re going to be able to do it.”
Renewed support from Morgan — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist’s boss and close friend — comes as opponents of the measure, aided by Sheldon Adelson, a Las Vegas casino magnate and supporter of Republican Gov. Rick Scott, double down on efforts to kill it.
Adelson, whose son Mitchell reportedly died of a drug overdose in 2005 and whose wife Miriam is a physician specializing in substance-abuse treatment, contributed $2.5 million to the “Drug Free Florida Committee,” one of two organizations lining up against the proposal.
Morgan has contributed at least $3.75 million to People United for Medical Marijuana, a political committee supporting the amendment that has spent more than $5 million so far. Supporters of the amendment recently set up a new federal 501(c)4 committee that can keep its donors secret. But “Florida for Care” organizers say the group is focused on creating a regulatory framework for the amendment if it is approved.
Debate is heating up over Amendment 2, which would allow physicians to order medical marijuana for patients they decide are suitable for the treatment. The debate comes as the state grapples with creating an infrastructure for a type of cannabis that purportedly does not get users high but can eliminate or dramatically reduce life-threatening seizures in children with a severe form of epilepsy. Lawmakers approved that type of cannabis this spring.
Scott, who has said he opposes the constitutional amendment, signed into law the measure authorizing strains of marijuana that are low in euphoria-inducing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, and high in cannabadiol, or CBD. The law also allows patients who suffer from severe muscle spasms or cancer to be put on a “compassionate use registry” for the low-THC product as long as their doctors approve. Under the law, five growers who meet certain criteria, including having been in business as nurseries in Florida for at least 30 years, will be authorized by the state to manufacture, process and distribute the product — usually sold in paste or oil form — to patients put on the “compassionate use registry.”
“Ganjapreneurs” from around the world are flocking to Florida — the first state to implement a law in which growers will also process and distribute the low-THC, high-CBD product — in hopes of getting in on the ground floor of the cannabis industry.
“There is going to be money made and whether you’re selling beer in a convenience store or topless dances in Ybor City, you’re going to have people who want to make money. That’s just who we are,” Morgan said.
The state’s newest regulated industry has attracted “charlatans” who are likely interested in the more lucrative possibilities traditional medical marijuana holds should Amendment 2 pass, Morgan said.
“It looks like a bunch of cockroaches that just got sprayed with Raid. They’re spinning around going nowhere fast,” he said. “There’s a lot of people who think this is their way to get out of their coat and tie and walk around in their Jimmy Buffet outfit all day long. I believe that right now I could make millions of dollars if I could set up a lemonade stand saying I’m the marijuana guru, call me for information. You can’t imagine how many people are calling me thinking I’m going to be the way and the light.”
Polls have consistently showed widespread support for the medical marijuana amendment but that was before what is developing into an all-out attack on the measure, including opposition from law enforcement groups like the Florida Sheriffs Association.
Critics have accused Morgan of putting the medical marijuana amendment on the ballot to increase turnout among left-leaning voters who typically stay home during mid-term elections and who may be more likely to support Crist.
But Morgan predicted fighting the amendment could backfire against Republican candidates like Attorney General Pam Bondi and Scott, who both oppose the measure.
“It’s like if you told African Americans we’re going to shut down voting times or voting days, they said, ‘The hell you are,’ and came out and voted in record numbers,” Morgan said.
But Sarah Bascom, a spokeswoman for what is known as the “Vote No on 2″ campaign, accused Morgan of using the amendment to gin up support for Crist.
“Mr. Morgan’s comments are further proof that he’s not doing this ‘for the people,’ but as part of his own political agenda. This preoccupation with politics probably explains why the loophole ridden amendment was written so poorly,” she said.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida