Diana Faye Tremer Robinson
February 8, 2015
Mrs. Diana Faye Tremer Robinson, age 63 of Castleberry, AL, passed away Friday, February 6, 2015, in a Montgomery, AL hospital.
Mrs. Robinson was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and had lived most of her life in Castleberry. She was a homemaker and was of the Baptist faith. Mrs. Robinson was preceded in death by her husband, James Robinson; and a sister, Libby Madden.
She is survived by two sons, Adam (LaDana) Robinson of Castleberry and Jonathan Robinson of Castleberry; three daughters, Teresa (Ryan) Burt of Millbrook, AL, Tracy (Phillip) Blackmon of Holtville, AL, and Ashley Weaver of Castleberry; one brother, Tommy Tremer of Brewton; three sisters, Betty Townson of Century, Mary Louise Brawner of South Carolina, and Carolyn Keely of Cantonment; and 12 grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held on Monday, February 9, 2015, at 2 p.m. from the chapel of Craver’s Funeral Home with speaker Claudia Langley officiating.
Interment will follow at Cedar Creek Cemetery.
Visitation will be held at Craver’s Funeral Home on Monday, February 9, 2015, from 1 p.m. until service time.
Pallbearers will be Adam Robinson, Jonathan Robinson, Keith Robinson, Tim Robinson, Phillip Blackmon, and Ryan Burt.
Donnie Leon Mimms
February 8, 2015
Mr. Donnie Leon Mimms, age 72 of Flomaton, passed away on Friday, February 6, 2015, at Atmore Community Hospital.
Mr. Mimms was a native of Pensacola and a member of the Flomaton community for 35 years. He was a veteran of the United States Army and United States Navy. He worked as a contractor in the construction field and was a member of First Baptist Church of Flomaton.
He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Mrs. Mary Mimms of Flomaton; brothers, Ronnie Mimms of Roundrock, TX, Roy Mimms of Magnolia Springs, AL and Charles Mimms of Pensacola; sisters, Velda Cook of Grapevine, TX, Velma Pinton of Baghdad, FL; brother-in-law, Jim (Sandy Henry) Nieznany of Flomaton; brother-in-law, Vernon (Betty) Leonard of Azle, TX; and neice, Laura Henry of Dothan, AL.
Graveside services will be held for Mr. Mimms on Monday, February 9, 2015, at Flomaton Cemetery at 10 a.m. with Rev. Dustin Stockstill officiating.
Flomaton Funeral Home directing.
Paul M. Brown
February 8, 2015
Paul M. Brown, 89, of Cantonment, passed away on February 4, 2015, after a long illness. Paul was a native Floridian, born on December 19, 1925, near Lakeland to Lee and Pauline Brown, and grew up at Bratt in Escambia County. He was a veteran of World War II. He worked at Cantonment’s paper mill for 36 years, retiring from Champion Paper Co. in 1991. An avid fisherman, he and his wife Betty spent much of his retirement years on their houseboat near Stockton.
He is preceded in death by his wife, Gladys ‘Teenie’ Brown; and son, Roland.
He is survived by his wife, Betty Frances Brown; sons, Russell G. (Karla) Brown and Randy K. Brown of Cantonment; Rodney M. (Faye) Brown of McDavid; Randy W. Hall of Mobile; daughter, Wanda A. Hall of Atmore; 14 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren and sister, Grace Long. A granddaughter penned this of him: “The cutest, sweetest, kindest, most amazing man EVER! Heaven has certainly gained another beautiful angel today.”
Funeral services will be held at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North in Cantonment on Monday, February 9, 2015, at 2 p.m.
Graveside service will follow at the family cemetery at Christian Home Church in McDavid.
Pallbearers will be his grandchildren, Barry Brown, Jarrod Brown, Andrew DuFrain, Randy Hall Jr., Matthew Gunter, and Shay Thigpen.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home North is in charge of arrangements.
Geneva Rolin Shivers
February 8, 2015
Mrs. Geneva Rolin Shivers, 76, passed away on Thursday, February 5, 2015, in Pensacola.
Mrs. Shivers was a native of Atmore and a resident of Flomaton for most of her life. Mrs. Shivers was a tribal member of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians and a charter member of Unity Baptist Church. Her parents; three brothers and two daughters-in-law precede her in death.
Survivors include her husband of 59 years, Roy W. Shivers, Sr. of Flomaton; two sons, Roy W. (Wendy M.) Shivers, Jr. of Atmore and William Kenneth Shivers of Flomaton; five brothers, David (Dorothy) Rolin of Atmore, Clarence (Diane) Rolin of Canoe, Rayford Rolin of Atmore, Raymond Rolin of Atmore, and Norman Rolin of Atmore; three sisters, Mabel (Sherrel) Lambert of Atmore, Joyce Kuhn of Atmore and Debra Strickland of Atmore; five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were held Saturday, February 7, 2015, at the Unity Baptist Church with Rev. Gene Pickern officiating.
Burial will follow at the Springhill Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery.
Pallbearers were Frank Williams, Gene VanHoosen, Danny King, Joe Shivers, Jr., Charles West and John West.
Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Homes is in charge of all arrangements.
Great, Warm Weekend Weather
February 7, 2015
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Saturday Night Increasing clouds, with a low around 45. South wind around 5 mph.
- Sunday Mostly sunny, with a high near 71. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Sunday Night A 20 percent chance of showers after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 50. South wind around 5 mph.
- Monday A 20 percent chance of showers before noon. Partly sunny, with a high near 70. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon.
- Monday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 38. North wind around 10 mph.
- Tuesday Sunny, with a high near 59. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Tuesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 37. North wind around 5 mph.
- Wednesday Sunny, with a high near 69.
- Wednesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 38.
- Thursday Mostly sunny, with a high near 59.
- Thursday Night A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 31.
- Friday A 20 percent chance of showers. Sunny, with a high near 50.
Progress Continues On New Escambia 4-H Facility
February 7, 2015
Progress is continuing toward the completion of the new Escambia County 4-H facility on Chalker Road in Molino, with construction underway on six pole barns on the property.
Six companies bid on the on the installation of one 40×60-foot, two 30×60-foot and three 24×48-foot pole barns on the 4-H property located at Chalker Road and Highway 99. Low bidder on the project was J. Miller Construction Company at $82,196.91. Other bids ranged from $91,500 fro Trammell Construction to $140,000 from Dominguez Design-Build.
The site includes two parcels — a 79.5 acre lot that already includes a covered barn and will be home to most 4-H activities and a 28.7 parcel that will be used for livestock activities.
Construction should be complete within one to three years on facilities set to include restrooms, a small classroom, nature trails, campsites for tent camping, fire pit for outdoor cooking and group events, bird blind, archery area, low ropes course, a horse arena, and livestock facilities for shows, clinics, animal science seminars and field days. The facility will also allow 4-H’ers to study astronomy, meteorology, animal science, plant science, soil science, water quality, health sciences, environmental science and more.
In 2012, the children and teens on the 4-H County Council voted to sell their 240 acre Langley Bell 4-H Center to Navy Federal Credit Union.
Pictured: Progress on barn construction recently at the new Escambia County 4-H facility on Chalker Road in Molino. Photos for NortheEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
A Very Special Mardi Gras Parade (With Photo Gallery)
February 7, 2015
A very special Mardi Gras parade was held Friday morning for the special needs students of Escambia Westgate School.
With plenty of beads, Moon Pies, and smiles, the parade rolled through the school parking lot not once, but twice for a little extra fun for 230 students that might not otherwise be able to attend a regular Mardi Gras Parade.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Price, click to enlarge.
Final Day: Ball Registration At NWE, Miracle League
February 7, 2015
Today is the final registration day for Northwest Escambia’s Bradberry Park in Walnut Hill and the for the Molino Ballpark.
Northwest Escambia’s Bradberry Park will hold registration on Saturday, February 7 from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Registration fees vary; a birth certificate is needed. For more information, click here
Molino Ballpark will hold registration on Saturday, February 7 – from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. A birth certificate is needed. For registration information, click here.
Democrats Question Optimism In Scott’s Budget
February 7, 2015
House Democrats tried to poke holes in Gov. Rick Scott’s proposed $77 billion budget, highlighting the use of expiring federal health-care dollars as a sign that the spending plan isn’t serious.
Democrats grilled Scott’s budget director, Cynthia Kelly, during a presentation before the House Appropriations Committee about Scott’s proposal for the budget year that begins July 1. Many of their questions focused on $2 billion pot of health-care money — more than $1 billion of which is federal money that the government might no longer provide — that Scott included despite the fact that the program is set to expire June 30.
Kelly said officials with the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration were meeting with federal officials Tuesday trying to negotiate an extension of the Low Income Pool, or “LIP,” program. The federal government extended the program during the current budget year, but has given state officials no guarantees that LIP will be renewed again.
“It is my understanding that they are hopeful that they will be able to get an extension on those LIP funds and, that’s why we included in our budget recommendations the continuation of the LIP program as it currently stands,” Kelly said.
Democrats weren’t satisfied with the explanation. The LIP program provides extra money to hospitals and other types of health providers that care for large numbers of poor and uninsured patients.
“My concern is, are we being fiscally irresponsible by including those dollars in this proposed budget when there is a very real chance and likelihood that those dollars will go away?” said Rep. Janet Cruz of Tampa, the top Democrat on the committee.
Kelly did not directly answer a question from House Minority Leader Mark Pafford, D-West Palm Beach, about whether Scott’s administration had a plan for how to balance the budget if the LIP money isn’t available.
“It’s February and we have until June. If I were proposing a budget and I had four months to look at this big amount of money, I would be zeroing this out and proposing something that offers an alternate option,” Cruz said after the meeting.
Republicans, who dominate the Legislature and will have much more to do with deciding which parts of Scott’s plan become law, were largely silent during the hour-long discussion of budget issues. But GOP lawmakers have indicated they’re unlikely to embrace Scott’s $77 billion budget without significant changes.
Democrats also focused on Scott’s drive to continue to cut positions from the state workforce. His plan would reduce the state’s payroll by more than 1,000 full-time positions, slashing more than 1,350 jobs while adding more than 360 positions in other areas. Most of the cuts would come from the Department of Health, which would shed 758 full-time positions.
“Within the budget, you’ve identified that the governor is seeking to be number-one in the creation of jobs and I see that specifically for our health department we’re going to be losing 758 jobs,” said Rep. Mia Jones, D-Jacksonville. “Can you talk to us about (this) loss of positions and how the two statements work together if we continue to reduce jobs?”
Kelly said Scott was focused on private-sector job growth, and that the governor has asked state agencies to try to find ways to reduce their workforce. More than 1,000 of the 1,350 posts set to be eliminated are already empty.
“I think that the vast majority of those, if not all of them, will become vacant by June 30. … As agencies are implementing the technology improvements and the process improvements, they’re able to identify areas for positions to be reduced,” she said.
Kelly is set to go before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday. Scott will spend the afternoon in Bonita Springs to pitch a $470.9 million reduction in state taxes on cell-phone and television services that is one of the highlights of his plan.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Northview Beats Holmes County In District Tourney; Championship Tonight
February 7, 2015
The Northview Chiefs are headed toward a district basketball championship showdown tonight after a close 48-46 win over Holmes County Friday night in Bratt.
The Chiefs led 27-20 at halftime. Holmes County took a 31-29 lead with 2:11 remaining in the third period, but that lead was short-lived as the Chiefs regained the advantage by the end of the third. By 4:31 in the fourth, the teams were tied, but Holmes County moved ahead 46-40 with 1:45 to go. The Chiefs were not going down without a fight, powering back to a 46-46 tie with 1:01 remaining in the game, and sinking the game winning shot just before the buzzer.
In the first game of the tournament Friday night at Northview, Chipley beat Baker 56-32.
The Chiefs will host Chipley at 7:00 Saturday night for the district championship. Both teams, regardless of the outcome of Saturday night’s game, will advance to the regionals — the winner at home and the loser on the road.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.