Man Convicted Of Beating Century Resident Over Unpaid Drug Debt
August 25, 2015
A local man has been sentenced to jail time for beating another man with a pipe in a Century street over a drug debt.
Johnnie Leethomas Carter, 34, was sentenced to 150 days in the county jail, his driver’s license was revoked for one year and he was ordered to pay $920 in fines and costs by Judge Ross Goodman for felony possession of crack cocaine and felony aggravated battery causing bodily harm.
The 61-year old victim told Escambia County deputies that he was walking in the area of Jefferson Avenue and Mincy Court in Century when he was attacked by Carter. The victim said Carter drove up, got out of his car, and struck him several times in the face with his fist before hitting him in the back of the head with a metal pipe.
The victim told deputies, according to an arrest report, that Carter beat him because he had not paid up for a previous drug deal. He said he could positively identify Carter from the neighborhood and previous drug deals.
The victim was transported by Escambia County EMS to Jay Hospital with a bloody nose, a profusely bleeding busted lip and a large knot and cut on the back of his head.
Deputies located Carter a short time later and placed him under arrest during a traffic stop at Jefferson Avenue and Pond Street. On Carter’s person, deputies reported finding a plastic bag containing what tested positive for crack cocaine.
Deputies also seized his 2007 Lincoln MKX and $523 in cash.
Century Approves $360K Loan, New Employee Insurance, Fence, Elevator
August 25, 2015
The Century Town Council approved a $360,000 loan, a new employee insurance company, a fence and an elevator during a special meeting Monday afternoon.
Drainage Project Loan
The council voted to allow Mayor Freddie McCall to execute a $360,000 loan with United Bank. They money will be used to pay a contractor working on a drainage project in the north part of town. Once the project is completed, Century will receive a grant reimbursement of the entire principal plus the interest. The loan will cost the town 1.964 percent interest plus a $350 fee. Escambia County Bank in Flomaton quoted a loan rate of 3 percent with no fee.
A Fence And An Elevator
The council approved recommendations of the Century Architectural Review Board to allow the First Baptist Church to construct a front porch, extending the brick steps toward the street and widening the steps for safety purposes. The church will also remove an existing handicap ramp and replace it with an “elevator” – a residential platform lift to the porch level for the handicap.
The council also approved a review board recommendation to allow Felix Fussner to install a four-foot wooden picket fence along the front of his property at 402 Front Street. The council also approve a variance to allow the four-foot height due to a three-foot limit currently allowed by ordinance.
The approvals of the e Century Architectural Review Board were necessary for both projects because they are located in the Alger-Sullivan Historical District.
A New Insurance Company
Also at Monday’s special meeting, the council voted to approved United Health Care as the town’s new employee insurance company. Employees will be able to chose from three plans offering deductibles of $500, $1,250 or $1,500 per year with zero coinsurance. The town will pay 99 percent of the monthly cost for employee-only plans and 78 percent of the cost for family coverage of the cheapest of the three plans (the $1,500 deductible plan). Employees will be responsible for the additional cost of the more expensive health care plans if they choose that level of coverage. The new plans go into effect October 1. Town employees are currently covered under plans by Aetna. The town’s overall health care insurance costs will increase by only a few percent.
Scott: 129 Hospitals To Be Audited Over Contracts; Two Escambia Hospitals Included
August 25, 2015
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Gov. Rick Scott’s administration is continuing to ratchet up pressure on the hospital industry, with Scott saying Monday that 129 hospitals face audits related to Medicaid managed-care contracts.
Those hospitals include Baptist Hospital in Escambia County, being audited because they responded after the August 1 deadline, and West Florida Hospital, which is on a long list of hospitals being audited to verify compliance with state law because of the nature of the explanations they provided in their responses, according to the governor’s office.
Scott listed the hospitals in a letter sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi. The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration earlier this month said it was auditing 31 hospitals to determine whether their contracts with managed-care plans comply with a state law that limits payments to 120 percent of a Medicaid fee schedule. AHCA last month requested that hospitals and insurers certify compliance with the law.
by The News Service of Florida and NorthEscambia.com
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Ernest Ward Middle Opens Football Season Thursday Night
August 25, 2015
The Ernest Ward Middle School Eagles have announced their 2015 football schedule. Play begins this Thursday at 6 p.m. at Ernest Ward as the Eagles host the Jay Royals.
The complete schedule is as follows, with all games scheduled for Thursdays at 6 p.m. -
August 27 - Jay at EWMS
September 3 - EWMS at T.R. Miller
September 10 – EWMS at W.S. Neal
September 17 – T.R. Miller at EWMS
September 24 – EWMS at Jay
October 1 – Escambia County (Atmore) at EWMS
October 8 – W.S. Neal at EWMS
October 15 – EWMS at Escambia County (Atmore)
Ernest Ward has the only public middle school football program in Escambia County.
Pictured: Ernest Ward Middle at Jay last season. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Cold Front: Lower Temps, Lower Humidity
August 25, 2015
Lower temperatures and lower humidity are in store for the North Escambia are for the next several days following the passage of a cold front. Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 87. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday Night: Clear, with a low around 62. North wind around 5 mph.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 90. North wind around 5 mph.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 65. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 90. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the morning.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 70. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight.
Saturday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 89. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the morning.
Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 71. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Sunday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 87.
Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71.
Monday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 89.
Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72.
Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 90.
Report Shows More Farmers With Internet Access
August 25, 2015
Farmers are increasingly turning to the internet and computers for their operations, according to a new study released by the US Department of Agriculture.
The USDA report shows 70 percent of U.S. farms and ranches now have access to internet, a 3 percent growth from 2013. DSL remained the most popular method for accessing internet, accounting for 30 percent of all farms and ranches with internet access. Despite remaining in the lead, however, the DSL access is down 5 percent, from the 35 percent of farms that used this method in 2013.
In contrast, wireless connection, which accounts for 29 percent, and satellite connection, which accounts for 21 percent of the U.S. total, showed significant growth in the past two years. Share of farms using these two methods went up 5 and 4 percent respectively.
According to the report, 43 percent of U.S. farms use computers for their business operations. Crop growers, at 47 percent, are more likely than livestock producers to use computers for business. In the livestock sector, 39 percent of producers use computers for business.
Farmers’ and ranchers’ business computer uses include:
- 44 percent – Conducting business with a non-agricultural website
- 44 percent – Accessing federal government websites
- 19 percent – Purchasing agricultural inputs
- 16 percent – Marketing activities
Farmers in the Western states are most likely to use computers for business. In that region, 48 percent of all farms use computers for that purpose. Western region was closely followed by the North Central and Northeast states, where 46 and 45 of all farms followed this practice. Southern states have the lowest percentage in this category. In that region 36 percent of all farms use internet to conduct business.
John Brian (JB) Holland
August 25, 2015
Mr. John Brian (JB) Holland was born on March 30, 1995, to Stephanie Holland in Mobile.
JB attended Escambia County High School in Atmore. After high school, JB went to Ohio and various other areas doing pipeline work. JB loved trucks (loud trucks) mud riding, and Alabama football. He was a true country boy.
JB departed this life on Sunday, August 23, 2015. He will be cherished in the hearts of his loving mother Stephanie Holland of Atmore and her partner Alma Taylor of Bay Minette; twin sisters, Kim and Kelly Holland of Atmore; cousins, Brittney, Lacy, Derrick and Christina Holland of Atmore; grandparents, Johnny Holland of Atmore, Glen and Helen Wolfe of Bay Minette, Aunt Pam and Uncle Will Lambert of Atmore, a host of other baby cousins, relatives, and friends.
Funeral services will be Friday, August 28, 2015, at 11 a.m. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home with Rev. Mike Grindle officiating.
Burial will follow at the Godwin Cemetery.
Visitation will be Thursday, August 27, 2015, from 6-9 p.m. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home.
Pallbearers will be John Wesley McCullough, Micah Herrington, Dalton Tyler Justice, Cody Rolin, Dustin Blake Boyington and Blake Perry.
Human Hunters Far Outnumber Bears That Could Be Killed
August 25, 2015
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will be asked next week to set a quota of 320 bears for a controversial hunt in October.
The hunt, the first in the state in more than 20 years, has already attracted 1,795 hunters who have purchased permits, according to the commission.
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taff members released a memo Monday outlining updated bear-population counts in two of the four regions in which hunting will be allowed. The memo is expected to go before the commission at a Sept. 2 meeting in Fort Lauderdale. The hunt is scheduled to start Oct. 24 and last from two days to seven days, based upon each region’s quota goals.
According to the latest figures, there are an estimated 1,300 bears in the central region, which includes the St. Johns River watershed to the Ocala National Forest, and 550 bears in the north region, which goes from Jacksonville west to Hamilton and Suwannee counties. In each region, the harvest target is proposed at 100 bears.
The bear quota is 40 in an eastern Panhandle region, which includes the northwestern Big Bend area to west of Apalachicola Bay. In a south region, which includes Broward, Collier, Hendry, Lee, Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Palm Beach counties, the quota number is 80. The south region excludes the Big Cypress National Preserve.
The hunt is intended to help the state achieve a 20 percent reduction in the bear population in each region. The 20 percent figure includes the number of bears that die naturally, are hit and killed by cars and are captured and killed by wildlife officers due to conflicts.
One of the arguments of the hunt’s opponents has been that the state was using old numbers for the bear populations in the four regions. Two of the four regions — the eastern Panhandle and south regions — continue to rely on 2002 study numbers, according to the staff memo.
Black bears were placed on the state’s threatened list in 1974, when there were between 300 and 500 across Florida. At the time, hunting black bears was limited to three counties. In 1994, the hunting season was closed statewide.
The issue has gained attention recently because of conflicts between bears and humans in some areas of the state. Critics of the hunt contend that people are moving into bear habitats and that the state should focus on efforts such as bear-proofing trash containers and prohibiting people from feeding bears.
The cost to get a bear hunting permit is $100 for Floridians and $300 for non-Floridians. The permits will be available up until the day before the hunt begins.
Each hunter is limited to one bear, and the kill will have to be registered and tagged within 12 hours.
Aaron S. Hodge
August 25, 2015
Aaron S. Hodge, a family man in every sense of the word, passed away on August 23, 2015. He was born on October 22, 1953, in Atmore and was the son of Jack and Peggy Hodge. He worked as a machine operator with Smurfit-Stone Container for over 25 years and retired from working at Plastic Coated Papers in 2012. He resided in Cantonment for the past 15 years with his wife, Tammy Hodge. Aaron had a love for casting his net out at Fort Morgan. His joy was to share his time fishing with others or fellowshipping with friends and family. He loved to spend time with the Merry Makers and the Band of Brothers groups of the First Baptist Church of Cantonment. He especially liked to join the church ladies for game day and enjoyed a good old-fashioned potluck. Most of all, he felt his best when his house was full of grandchildren. We will miss his ‘crabby’ sense of humor, hippie hairdos, and silly pranks.
He is survived by his wife, Tammy; his daughter, Naomi Conner; his son, Jeremiah; and daughter through marriage, Christal Bell; his parents, Jack and Peggy Hodge; his sister, Susan McCrory; and brothers, Jackie and David; and seven grandchildren, Angel, Taylor, Lucas, Mallory, Hannah, Avery and Mylo. The family of Aaron would like to extend thanks to all for their continued love and support.
Funeral services will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 28, 2015, at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North with Rev. Larry Huff and Rev. Ricky Skaggs, officiating. Burial will follow in Highland Baptist Church Cemetery.
The family will receive friends at 1:30 p.m. prior to services.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home North is in charge of arrangements.
Scotty Jordan
August 25, 2015
Mr. Scotty Jordan, 38, passed away on Saturday, August 22, 2015, in Atmore.
Mr. Jordan was a native and life long resident of Atmore. Mr. Jordan was an avid Alabama Football Fan and co-owner of S & K Glass. He is preceded in death by his mother, Vicki Jordan.
Survivors include his father, Kenny Jordan of Atmore; two sons, Ridge Jordan of Atmore and Cole Jordan of Atmore; one brother, Casey (Jennifer) Jordan of Atmore; one sister, Brandi Short of Medford, OR; grandmother, Patsy Patch of Atmore and other relatives and friends.
Funeral services will be Thursday, August 27, 2015, at 2 p.m. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home with Bishop Wilson officiating.
Burial will follow at the Oak Hill Cemetery.
Visitation will be Wednesday, August 26, 2015, from 6-9 p.m. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home.
Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Homes, LLC in charge of all arrangements, Atmore, Alabama.