Clarine Brewton Gafford
April 19, 2017
Clarine Brewton Gafford, 88, of Cantonment, FL, passed away peacefully on April 18, 2017, surrounded by loving family. She loved to quilt, cook and sew. She was an active member of First Baptist Church of Cantonment for over 60 years.
She is preceded in death by her husband of 57 years, Paul Gafford and her son, Neal Gafford. She is survived by her sons, Elwin (Charlotte) Gafford and Mike (Ann) Gafford; daughter, Judy Fehl; numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
Pallbearers will be David Gafford, Chad Gafford, Kenneth Fehl and Chris Colbert.
Visitation will be held Friday, April 21, 2017 at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North beginning at 10:00 a.m. with funeral service at 11:00 a.m. Interment will follow at Rays Chapel, Bogia, FL.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home North is entrusted with arrangements.
Mary B. Jay
April 19, 2017
Mary B. Jay, 75 years old, passed away on Monday, April, 17, 2017, after a brief illness in Pensacola, FL.s
Mary was born on June 10, 1941, in Morganfield, KY. She was raised in Kentucky by her loving parents, William and Margaret Ricketts. She had 4 brothers (Donald, Billy, Mike, and Tim) and 4 sisters (Sue, Peggy, Bettie, and Lois).
Mary joined the United States Navy in April 1964. She served with the Navy at the Surgical Clinic Navy Hospital until her honorable discharge in April 1967. She was very proud to have served for her country.
Mary later went to work and retired from the Escambia County Board of Education. Many will remember her as the secretary/bookkeeper at A.C. Moore Elementary, a job that she loved and made many friends throughout the years.
Mary is survived by her children, Sharon Jay Stearns (Todd), Randy Jay (Joyce), Ronnie Jay (Martha), Roger Jay, Linda Johnson (Chris), Robin Jay (Stephne), and Charlene Pugh (Larry). She is also survived by many grandchildren, great grandchildren, and Jimmy Jay Her life time
Partner. She was a very devoted mother and grandmother.
Services will be Friday April 21, 2017 at 10 AM from the St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church with Rev. Patrick Madden and Rev. Arulappan Jayaraj officiating, Interment will follow in Oak Hill Cemetery.
Family will receive friends, Thursday evening April 20, 2017 at Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home Chapel from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Mary was a faithful Catholic. She read her prayers daily. She was a member of St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church, Atmore, Alabama, and while staying with her daughter in Brewton she attended St. Maurice Catholic Church, Brewton, Alabama. A special thanks to Father Pat Madden of St. Maurice Catholic Church for the many visits he made to see her at The Terrace.
A very special thanks to the staff and her friends at The Terrace in Jay, FL. Mary resided at The Terrace prior to her death and not a day went by without her telling her daughter how friendly and nice everyone was there and how much she liked living there.
Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Norvie Lee McGhee, Jr.
April 19, 2017
Graveside service will be held on April 20, 2017, at New Home Cemetery, Poarch, AL, for Norvie Lee McGhee, Jr. age 80, of Rainbow City who died April 14, 2017. Reverend Ray Ward of Friendly Holiness Church, Atmore, AL will officiate.
Norvie retired from Goodyear after 34 years of service in 1998. He was the son of the late Norvie Lee McGhee, Sr. and Gladys Presley McGhee of Atmore, AL. He was a tribal member of the Poarch Creek Band of Indians.
He is survived by his wife, LuAnn Moss McGhee, his four children: Robert McGhee, Lynette McGhee Riggan, David McGhee, and Laurie McGhee Morgan, grandchildren: Jordan, Johnathan, Taylor, Hannah, Christopher, Tristan, Dalton, Alexandra, Katherine, and Zoe and siblings: Eloise Ramer (Glencoe), Douglas McGhee, Betty Jean McVey, Hazel Albritton, Ronnie McGhee and Huey McGhee. Norvie was preceded in death by siblings Louise Turner, Early McGhee and Cecil McGhee (Southside).
Graveside services will be held Thursday, April 20, 2017 at 11:00 AM at the New Home Cemetery with Rev. Ray Ward officiating.
Visitation will be held Wednesday, April 19, 2017 from 6 to 8 PM at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home.
Pallbearers will be Rodney McVey, Tim Albritton, Jason McGhee, Allen Turner, Gwen McGhee and Jeremy McGhee.
Stephen Curtis Klinger
April 19, 2017
Mr. Stephen Curtis Klinger, 64, passed away on Monday, April 17, 2017 in Pensacola, Florida.
Mr. Klinger was a native of Carlisle, PA and has resided in Atmore, AL for the past 7 years. He was passionate, loving, loved family, church, God and his country. He was retired from the USMC, veteran of Vietnam, received the Purple Heart, Engineer, and Carpenter and served Mental Disabled people. He was a member of the Atmore Baptist Temple.
He is survived by his wife, Danna Klinger of Atmore, AL; two sons, James Klinger of Clanton, AL and Joel Klinger of Atmore, AL; two daughters, Jennifer Klinger of Colorado Springs, CO and Sara Klinger of Clanton, AL; one sister, Lucy Klinger of Carlisle, PA; seven grandchildren, Destiny Klinger, Travon Klinger, Lanaiya Klinger, Janelle Klinger, Joshua Klinger, Alanjha Klinger and Jolene Klinger and one great grandchild, Elijah Lyons.
Memorial services will be Sunday, April 23, 2017 at 6:00 P.M. at the Atmore Baptist Temple with the Rev. Doug Odom officiating.
Clara Ouida Meadows Eubanks
April 19, 2017
Clara Ouida Meadows Eubanks, 82 of Bay Minette, AL. passed away Tuesday April, 18, 2017, in Century, FL. She was a retired supervisor with Vanity Fair Mills, born in Escambia County, AL, on June 7, 1934, to the late Dence D. and Mamie Goodson Donaldson.
She is preceded in death by her parents, and six siblings.
Survivors are two sons Joseph L.( Pamela G.) Meadows, Jr of Dothan, AL, and Roger G. Meadows of Bay Minette, AL; sister, Joyce Seale of Atmore, AL; four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Services will be Friday, April 21, 2017, at 3:00 p.m. from Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home Chapel with Bro. John Montalvo officiating. Interment will follow in Oak Hill Cemetery.
Active pallbearers are Gary Donaldson, Jason Donaldson, Wade Williams, Brandon Phillips, and Sam Donalson. Honorary Pallbearer, Kevin Presley.
Family will receive friends, Friday April 21, 2017, at Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home, from 2:00 p.m. until service time at 3:00 p.m.
B-I-N-G-O! Century Approves Bingo Hall Operation
April 18, 2017
Monday night, the Century Town Council gave the approval needed for a bingo hall to open.
Within a few weeks, Larry Segebarth plans to open “Century Bingo” in a leased 5,000 square foot building at 9420 North Century Boulevard, the former location of the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store.
The Century Town Council was not tasked with approving any issue regarding bingo games, but rather with determining if a bingo facility was allowable under the general use categories of the town’s Land Development Code. With their vote, the council determined that bingo games met the criteria as an “indoor recreation center”.
The bingo games are regulated by the state. All games will be played under the name of a legal Florida charity, with the charity receiving proceeds minus expenses. The games will be staffed by volunteers paid by tips only with the bingo hall hiring local employees for jobs such as maintenance.
The council approval did not come without opposition from at least one local citizen.
“Do you think Century will benefit from local income residents spending at a bingo hall,” asked Mary Bourgeois. “Gambling is a problem.”
File photo.
Herrington Pitches Northview To Win Over Central; Aliff Homers In Baseball
April 18, 2017
SOFTBALL
Northview 3, Central 2
The Northview Lady Chiefs beat state-ranked Central 3-2 Monday.
The Chiefs, 11-4 in Class 1A, hosts Chipley Tuesday night to decide if the Chief see second or third seed in upcoming district play.
“We struggled offensively and defensively coming off of a three-day weekend but we had players to step up and drive in three runs when needed to give us the win,” Northview Coach Amy Holland said. “Our team is still very young with only two seniors and the rest mostly ninth and tenth graders…Tori Herrington has 140 strikeouts this year — very impressive for a 10 grader.”
Herrington pitched a complete game for the Chiefs allowing six hits, three runs, two errors and striking out four. She was 1-3 at bat for the Lady Chiefs.
For Northview – Jamia Newton 2-4, R, RBI, 3B; Kendall Enfinger 1-2, RBI; Peighton Dortch 1-3, 3B; Teriana Redmond R.
The Chiefs host Chipley at 6:00 Tuesday in Bratt. Senior Night activities begin at 5:30.
BASEBALL
Northview 12, W.S. Neal 11
The Northview Chiefs beat W.S. Neal Tuesday 12-11. Jared Aliff homored for the Chiefs.
The Chiefs will cross the Escambia River to play Jay’s Royals at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Tate 8, West Florida (9th grade)
NorthEscambia.com photo.
Century Hikes Garbage Rates By 36 Percent
April 18, 2017
The Century Town Council officially voted Monday night hike residential garbage rates by 36 percent.
Century’s 545 garbage customers currently pay $16.98 to per month. In order to stop financial losses in the garbage department, Mayor Henry Hawkins proposed the increase $6.21 per month, for a total bill of $23.19. The increase will allow the town to continue to collect bulk items such as furniture and appliances and vegetative waste.
The council rejected the idea of offering a discount for low income senior citizens as recommended by Council President Ann Brooks.
Pictured top: Century Mayor Henry Hawkins discusses garbage rates at a Monday night meeting of the town council. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
House, Senate Begin Trying To Reach Gambling Deal
April 18, 2017
House and Senate leaders met briefly Monday afternoon to lay the groundwork for negotiations on the two chambers’ vastly different approaches to gambling policy.
Sen. Bill Galvano, a Bradenton Republican who will chair the conference committee on gambling, said the panel won’t meet again before Thursday but could work over the weekend hashing out differences between the plans. Lawmakers are trying to reach consensus on a new deal with the Seminole Tribe after a portion of an agreement with the tribe expired in 2015.
That component of the 20-year deal gave the tribe “exclusive” rights to operate banked card games, such as blackjack, at most of its casinos. The tribe sued the state over the games, and a federal judge gave the Seminoles permission to continue to conduct the games.
The House is backing what is essentially a status quo proposal that would give the Seminoles permission to operate the banked card games, such as blackjack, for another 20 years. The Senate, in contrast, has endorsed a pari-mutuel friendly plan that would allow slot machines at pari-mutuels in the eight counties — Brevard, Duval, Gadsden, Hamilton, Lee, Palm Beach, St. Lucie and Washington — where voters have approved them.
Which pari-mutuels get slots — and where — is one of the biggest sticking points for the negotiators, according to Galvano and Rep. Jose Felix Diaz, a Miami Republican who is vice-chair of the gambling conference committee.
“Obviously, there are members from each of those communities that are looking out to make sure that one county doesn’t get new slots and their county is left out,” Diaz told reporters after the meeting.
Another point of contention involves controversial “designated player” card games operated by a number of pari-mutuel cardrooms, which are at the heart of the state’s legal dispute with the tribe.
The Senate plan would legalize the card games, while the House proposal would ban them. The tribe, which is seeking to add craps and roulette at its casinos, has maintained that the House measure — which would require a minimum guarantee from the tribe of $3 billion over seven years — would not get the requisite approval from federal authorities.
“We’re going to have to figure out what’s more important, (not) giving them those new games or getting more money for the state, because you might not be able to do both,” Diaz said. Lawmakers, who for years have been unable to reach consensus on broad gambling legislation, could be more motivated this year by a series of court decisions that could jeopardize the nearly $120 million in annual payments paid to the state by the Seminoles.
“Given what has occurred over the last several years, but especially recently with the judicial branch and the decisions that are coming out and the complexity and the ambiguity of the issues that we’re dealing with, inaction is not an option. We have to act,” Galvano said.
by The News Service of Florida
Suspect Arrested In Escambia Shooting Death
April 18, 2017
UPDATE: The suspect has been arrested per ECSO.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office has named a suspect in an early Monday morning shooting.
Antuan Marques Harris, 24, is wanted for the murder of a Curtis Hodge Jr.
Just after midnight on April 17th, Harris shot and killed Hodge in the 700 block of Old Corry Field Road.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to the area to find Hodge with a gunshot wound to the face. He did not survive.
Anyone with information on the shooting death or the whereabouts of Harris is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Pitured: Antuan Marques Harris.