Ernest Ward Veterans Program Rescheduled For Friday Morning
November 11, 2009
Ernest Ward Middle School has rescheduled its Veterans Day Program for 9:30 Friday morning.
All veterans, members of the military, and community members are invited to attend the program in the school’s gym as EWMS faculty, staff, and students honor those who have served our country in the past and those who serve presently.
J. H. McCurdy
November 11, 2009
Mr. J. H. McCurdy, age 74, of Century, FL was received into eternal life Saturday, November 7, 2009 at Century Care Center where he was receiving physical therapy. Herbert was born on August 26, 1935 at his family’s home in Century and he resided there his entire life. He was a hard worker and he helped his family run McCurdy Diary for many years while operating the “Dairy Bar Cafe.” Later, he was employed at Container Paper Mill in Brewton, AL as a chemical engineer and retired in 2007 after 42 years. He was married to his high school sweetheart, Barbara Joan vanMerkestyn McCurdy for 54 years. He was a member of Century United Methodist Church for the majority of his life.
Funeral Services will be at Century United Methodist Church on Wednesday, November 11, 2009 at 3pm with the Rev. Janet Lee officiating. Interment will be at McCurdy Cemetery in Century, FL.
Survivors include his wife, Barbara J. McCurdy, of Century, FL; neice, Ericka Register (J.B.) Nelson, of Century, FL; sister and brother-in-law, Donna and Coy Register, of McDavid, FL; other family members, Suzanne McCurdy Pelzer, Bennie (Jennifer) McCurdy, Donnie (Ruby) McCurdy and family; his friend of 26 years, Ms. Janet Lee; special Kentucky friends, Laura Beth Lee, Chad Rogers and family, the James Rushing family; one uncle, two aunts, and many special cousins.
Pallbearers will be Chad Bryant, Robert Engllish, Coy Campbell, Charlie Brown, Ed Horne, Ken McCurdy, Jack Neal and J.R. Jones. Honorary Pallbearers will be Bobby Joe Lee, Mike Barberi, Ray Rydzowski, Larry Jones and John Kimbrough.
Visitation was held Tuesday, November 10, 2009 at the Flomaton Funeral Home.
Flowers are appreciated, but memorials or donations may be made to Century United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 245, Century, FL 32535 or Covenant Hospice, 5907 Berryhill Road, Milton, FL 32570. Flomaton Funeral Home directing.
Firefighters Respond To Early Morning International Paper Fire
November 11, 2009
Firefighters from four stations responded to an early morning fire at International Paper in Cantonment.
Tar on a roof over or near the powerhouse was reported to be on fire at about 4 a.m. Firefighters had difficulty accessing the fire location. Just before 5 a.m., they reported they had reached a small smoldering tar fire. About 5:10 a.m., they reported the fire was out. No major damage and no injuries were reported.
Firefighters from the Cantonment, Ensley and Beulah stations of Escambia Fire Rescue responded to the fire, while firefighters from the Molino Station stood by at the Cantonment station to take any additional calls in the area.
Ida Causes Millions In Damage To Cotton, Other North Escambia Crops
November 11, 2009
Preliminary reports show that Tropical Storm Ida caused or heavily contributed to millions of dollars in losses on Escambia County’s farms.
“Agricultural losses are significant for peanuts, soybeans, hay, and cotton,” said Suzette Cooper, Farm Services Agency. The damage, she said, was not from Ida’s winds, but from four to seven inches of rain in a 12 hour period. That rain only served to further the crop losses from heavy rains in October.
Of the county’s 8,218 acres of cotton, there were 6,164 acres affected by Ida, with 20 percent of that acreage considered a loss. Escambia County’s cotton crop is worth an estimated $6 million.
“With all of the rain, there is some terrible looking cotton,” according to Libbie Johnson, Escambia County Extension University of Florida IFAS agent. “There is one field I know of on Highway 97 that was so pretty Saturday and Sunday. Some of it was harvested, and now the rest is basically ruined.”
Losses were also heavy to the peanut crop in Escambia County. There are 4,752 acres of peanuts in the county, with 2,376 acres impacted by Ida. Thirty percent are lost.
“The rain can cause a lot of disease to the peanuts still in the ground, and the peanuts can sprout,” Johnson said. She said the peanuts that were already dug and on top of the ground will be impacted less by the rains, but wet fields will prevent farmers from completing the harvest for several days.
There were also 1,159 acres of hay, 1,470 acres of soybeans and 200 acres of pecans impacted by Ida.
Pictured top: Wet cotton sags to the ground in a Walnut Hill field Tuesday afternoon following Tropical Storm Ida. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Escambia Students May Not Be Required To Make Up Days
November 11, 2009
Escambia County public school students may not be required to make up the two days missed because of Tropical Storm Ida.
“The superintendent will ask the commissioner of education to waive these two days based on the fact that we currently exceed the number of hours that students are required to be in class,” said Linda English, spokesperson for the Escambia County School District. Once the commissioner of education makes his final decision, NorthEscambia.com will post an updated story.
Superintendent Malcolm Thomas decided early Sunday night to cancel school for Monday and Tuesday as Ida was spinning as a category two hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico. His decision was based upon at least two factors: it is considered unsafe to have school buses on the road in winds greater than 40 mph, and three schools were to be used as evacuation storm shelters.
West Florida Tech Pensacola High and Molino Park Elementary were opened Monday as storm shelters.
Veterans Day: Three North Escambia Memorials Honor Those That Served
November 11, 2009
Three memorial walls in North Escambia — in Century, Barrineau Park and Molino — stand as tributes to veterans from across the area.
Century
About thirty of those that served from the Century area are now honored on the Century Veteran’s Wall of Honor that was unveiled in a 2008 Fourth of July ceremony at Century’s Roadside Park on Highway 29. For more information about adding a name to the wall, call the Town Hall at (850) 256-3208.
Barrineau Park
“In a way, it makes me sad,” Nancy Fillingim, the local resident that proposed the Wall of Honor inside the Barrineau Park Community Center, said. The picture of her husband, Aubie Fillingham, was one of the first photos on the wall. He spent 20 years in the Navy as a boiler technician and a criminal investigator. Pictures of his four brothers are also on the wall.
In all, over 100 Barrineau Park area veterans are honored on the Wall of Honor.
The wall was a project of the Barrineau Park Historical Society. Nita Berry, president of the organization, said the community has been very supportive of the project by providing the pictures. “It was something we could do to honor our veterans,” she said. “It’s a very small thing compared to what they did for us.”
For more information on the Wall of Honor, contact Nancy Fillingim at (850) 587-2266.
For a photo gallery from the Barrineau Park Wall of Honor, click here.
Walnut Hill
The largest such memorial in the North Escambia area, the Veteran’s Honor Wall has stood in front of the Walnut Hill Community Center since its dedication in 2003. There are about 275 names on the wall, including 13 names of soldiers killed in action. The wall honors those from the Walnut Hill area that have served in the nation’s military.
The Walnut Hill Ruritan Club began planning the wall in late 2001, and they decided that it would be a community project at no cost to the veterans listed.
“If you are a veteran, you deserve to be there,” Walnut Hill Ruritan Club Past-President Billy R. Ward said. “You’ve already paid your debt; we wanted this wall to honor the veterans.”
On the Walnut Hill Veteran’s Honor Wall, everyone is equal. It was decided that no service rank would be included on the name plaques, just the branch and years of service.
The Walnut Hill Veteran’s Wall is located in front of the community center at 7850 Highway 97.
If you know a veteran from the Walnut Hill area (including Bratt, Davisville, Oak Grove and Enon) that should be included on the honor wall, call Billy R. Ward at (850) 256-2907. Or mail the veteran’s name, address, city, state, phone, branch of service, dates of service and your name and phone number to: Walnut Hill Ruritan Club, P.O. Box 35, Walnut Hill, FL 32568.
For photographs that include most names on the Walnut Hill Veterans Honor Wall, click here.
NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Barrineau Park Bridge Won’t Reopen Until Mid-December
November 11, 2009
Bridge work on Barrineau Park Road near Jacks Branch Road will not be completed until at least mid-December.
According to Escambia County District 5 Commissioner Kevin White, materials to complete the project are just being delivered to the site this week.
“I don’t know if we are looking at any kind of delay because of the storm,” White said, “but December 16 is the earliest it will be done.”
Barrineau Park Road from Jacks Branch Road to Barrineau Park School Road was closed October 16 so that repairs could be made to the Penasula Creek Bridge which is located north of the intersection of Barrineau Park Road and Jacks Branch Road.
The only detours around the closure are Chestnut Road or Highway 29 between Barrineau Park Road and Molino Road.
Editor’s note: This story clarifies an earlier NorthEscambia.com story with erroneous information provided by Escambia County.
The closed bridge is marked with the green icon on the map below.
Atmore To Honor Area Veterans With Parade This Afternoon
November 11, 2009
Atmore will honor area veterans with a Veterans Day parade today.
The parade will begin at 2:00 at the Atmore City Hall, travel down Main Street to Craig Street to end at the Atmore YMCA.
The Northview High School NJROTC, and Alabama Congressman Joe Bonner are among the scheduled participants. Veterans are invited to participate in the parade and should arrive by 1:45. Veterans will have the opportunity to ride one of the floats or cars in the parade; they will not be required to walk the one mile route.
Tuesday Trash Picked Up Today
November 11, 2009
Emerald Coast Utility Authority (ECUA) residential and commercial sanitation service collections have been changed for the week as a result of Tropical Storm Ida.
ECUA residential trash pickups will be as follows:
- Tuesday collections will be on Wednesday.
- Wednesday collections will be on Thursday.
- Thursday collections will be on Friday.
- Friday collection will be on Saturday.
ECUA commercial pickups scheduled for Tuesday will be collected on Wednesday. All other commercial collections will be on regularly scheduled days.
Flood Warning Extended For Escambia River At Century
November 11, 2009
A Flood Warning continues until Friday evening for the Escambia River near Century until Friday morning.
A 8 p.m. Tuesday the stage was 13.9 feet. No flooding was occurring and minor flooding is forecast. The flood stage is 17 feet. The Escambia River at Century is forecast to rise to flood stage by Thursday evening. The river will fall below flood stage by early Friday morning.