Town Of Century Issues Proclamation Honoring Northview Chiefs Football
January 18, 2023
The Town of Century issued a proclamation Tuesday night honoring the Northview Chiefs football team and their season that ended in the FHSAA 1-Rural state title game.
“Thank you all for representing, not only the town, but our local communities as well,” Mayor Ben Boutwell said.
Northview finished an astounding 2022 season, the best in school history, at 13-1. In the state championship game December 10 in Tallahassee, the Chiefs fell to Hawthorne.
Pictured: Century Mayor Ben Boutwell presents a proclamation Tuesday night recognizing the Northview Chiefs to head coach Wes Summerford and assistant coach Jace Gandy. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Amy Jo Lambeth
January 18, 2023
Mrs. Lambeth enjoyed spending time with family and friends. She loved taking pictures at the football games, and loved going fishing. She enjoyed cooking and traveling especially to New Orleans and Lafayette, LA.
She is survived by her father, John (George Ann) Johnson, of Walnut Hill, FL; mother, Ruth Martin, of Lawton, OK; husband, Dan Lambeth, of Flomaton, AL; one son, Silas Jackson Lambeth, of Flomaton, AL; one daughter, Madison Jewel Lambeth, of Flomaton, AL; one brother, Bradley Ross, of Albuquerque, NM; one sister, Sarah (Eli) Miller, of Molino, FL; special friend, Kelly Dove, other relatives, and friends.
Funeral service will be held Saturday, January 21, 2022, at 12:30 PM at Petty- Eastside Chapel Funeral Home, LLC with Rev. Josh Long officiating.
Burial will follow at Travelers Rest Cemetery.
Visitation will be held Saturday, January 21, 2023, from 11:30 AM until service time at 12:30 PM at Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home, LLC.
Pallbearers will be Rusty Carden, Eli Himes, Ronnie Dove, Danny Taylor, Donnie Branch, and Ray Flores.
Honorary pallbearers will be Coach Ferron, Coach O’Neal, Flomaton Hurricane Junior Football Team, Joey Hasty, Wallace Byrd, David Strength, and Terry Boutwell.
Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home, LLC. is in charge of all arrangements.
Opal L. (Cornelia) Hatcher
January 18, 2023
Opal L. (Cornelia) Hatcher, 86, of Cantonment, Florida, passed away on Monday, January 16, 2023, after a short illness.
She was born in Sneads, Florida on January 18, 1936, daughter of the late Percy and Blanche Lanier, and sister of her late brother William Lanier. She is survived by her daughter Janice Hardin and her husband Kerry, son Larry Hatcher and his wife Karen, and Allen Hatcher and his wife Yolanda. She is also survived by eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren, and a host of nieces and nephews. Opal graduated from Sneads High School (Florida) where she was a cheerleader and then graduated as Salutatorian of her class. She met her future husband, Charles K. Hatcher, at a basketball game and married in October 1953; they were married for 45 years until his death in 1998. She soon thereafter attended and graduated from Montgomery Business College. They moved from Chattahoochee, Florida to Pensacola in 1957 and both began work at Chemstrand. She also worked in administration at the firm of Cabiness, Hiles, and McCloud and later had a long administrative career at Pensacola Junior College in the IT and Data Processing Department.
Charles and Opal built their first home in Ensley, Florida in 1960 and later built a new home in Cantonment. Opal was a very family-oriented lady; her family’s well-being always came first to her. She loved her husband and children dearly and was never more content than on those occasions when they could all be together. In addition to her family, she loved music and working in her yard and garden, but what she loved most was taking care of others. She could not bear to see anyone suffer and was tireless in her efforts to assist and heal. Her efforts in taking care of both her parents, her brother and her husband, when they were in ill health, were remarkable and set a standard for love and sacrifice that few will ever match.
She also loved to laugh, and her children discovered in her later years that she had much more humor within her than was ever suspected. She began exhibiting a degree of quick wit and humor they had never witnessed and this has left them with many fond and delightful memories of her latter days. Opal was a faithful member of the Pensacola Boulevard Church of Christ and later attended the Gateway Church of Christ. She was not “preachy” and she taught others primarily how she lived her life and how she treated others. She was an exemplary model of what a mother and wife should be. She laughed heartily in the good times, worked hard and long in times of difficulty, and seldom if ever, complained. She was a light in the world for many people and will be sorely missed. Pallbearers will be Justin Hatcher, Stan Oliver, Burt Goodman, Justin Hardy, Patrick Bradley, Austin
Smith.
A funeral service will be held at Faith Chapel Funeral Home-North on Friday, January 20. Visitation will be from 2 pm to 3:30 pm with the funeral service to follow immediately. Opal will be buried on Saturday at Pensacola Memorial Gardens at 2:00 pm and all family and friends are welcome to attend.
Crash Claims One Life Of Motorcyclist On Highway 95A In Molino
January 17, 2023
The Florida Highway Patrol said a 60-year old Nallen, West Virginia motorcyclist died the the crash.
Troopers said he was southbound on Highway 95A approaching Cedartown Road behind a car driven by a 73-year old Molino woman. She began to slow to turn onto Cedartown Road, and the motorcyclist attempted to pass her. The front of the motorcycle struck the left rear of the car, causing the motorcycle to overturn into the northbound lane. The motorcycle and its rider were then hit by a pickup truck driven by a 56-year old Cantonment man.
The motorcyclist was pronounced deceased at the scene. The other two drivers received minor injuries.
No names were released.
Escambia County EMS, the Cantonment and Molino stations of Escambia County Fire Rescue and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office also responded.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Cantonment Woman Charged With $19K In Public Assistance Fraud
January 17, 2023
A Cantonment woman is facing felony charges for alleged public assistance fraud.
Jessica Lee Showalter, 35, was charged with two counts of welfare fraud.
Between August 21, 2017, and March 31, 2022, Showalter falsely represented permanent household members, wrongly collecting $14,592 worth of food stamps and $4,427.62 in Medicaid benefits, according to the State Attorney’s Office.
She was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $10,000 bond.
Funeral Services Set For Local Pearl Harbor Survivor Frank Emond, 104
January 17, 2023
Funeral services have been set for local Pearl Harbor survivor Frank Emond who passed away January 10 at age 104.
A visitation and reception will be held Friday, January 20 from 11 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. at Oak Lawn Funeral Home on New Warrington Road, followed by a funeral service from 1:30 p.m. until 2:45 p.m. A graveside service will follow at 3 p.m. at Barrancas National Cemetery.
Originally from Rhode Island, Emond enlisted in the Navy in 1938 as a musician. He played the French horn for the ship’s band and even got to perform at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York before he was assigned to the USS Emond, CWO4 USN (RET.), spent his naval career as a musician and band director. He was on the stern of the USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) getting ready to play morning “Colors” on his French horn when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Emond then walked to the conductor’s stand, picked up the baton and proceeded to direct the band in “Stars and Stripes”.
After seven years of playing horn, he became a Navy bandleader, retiring in 1968.
He remained a music man; sometimes leading the music at Gonzalez Methodist and performing with the Pensacola Civic Band.
Last May, Emond broke his own world record when he led the Pensacola Civic Band in the seventh annual Pensacola Memorial Day Concert at the Community Maritime Park amphitheater.
He held the Guinness World Record as “World’s Oldest Conductor” for leading the U.S. Air Force Band’s Airmen of Note in Glenn Miller’s iconic “In the Mood” at the American Veteran Center’s “America Valor: A Salute to our Heroes”. He set the previous record at age 103 last November in Washington, D.C.
Donna McMillan Named Northview High School Teacher Of The Year
January 17, 2023
Donna McMillan was named the Northview High School Teacher of the Year.
McMillan has taught for eight years, including four years as a reading teacher at Northview. She also coached basketball for three years.
NorthEscambia.com spotlighting Teachers of the Year from the North Escambia area. The county’s overall teacher of the year will be named in late January.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Mixed Weather Pattern This Week: Sun, Showers And Some Storms
January 17, 2023
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 74. Southwest wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Tuesday Night: Patchy fog after midnight. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 59. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Wednesday: A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 75. South wind 5 to 10 mph increasing to 10 to 15 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Wednesday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63. South wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before noon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 72. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 44. West wind around 5 mph becoming north after midnight.
Friday: Partly sunny, with a high near 63. North wind around 5 mph.
Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
Saturday: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 58. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Saturday Night: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Cloudy, with a low around 49. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Sunday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 65. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Sunday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 63.
10,000 Pound Food Giveaway Tuesday Afternoon In Cantonment
January 17, 2023
The Cantonment Improvement Committee will hold a drive-thru 10,000 pound food giveaway Tuesday afternoon at Carver Park on Webb Street.
The food distribution will begin at 3 p.m. and continue while supplies last for anyone in need of food. People should line up their vehicles, single file on Webb Street facing north; food will be loaded into vehicles. Identification is required.
NorthEscambia.com file photos.
Escambia Gas Price Averages $3.08 Per Gallon
January 17, 2023
Florida gas prices declined 6 cents per gallon, during the past week. On Monday, the state average was $3.26 per gallon.
The average price per gallon in Escambia County was $3.08. A North Escambia low of $3.04 was available Monday night on Muscogee Road in Cantonment, while Pensacola prices bottomed out a $2.87 at a Nine Mile Rod station.
Fuel prices have ping ponged in the first two weeks of 2023. The year began at $3.24 per gallon, which is currently this year’s low. The state average then jumped to $3.31 on the 5th, before eventually setting back to $3.26/g during the weekend.