Power Glitch Leads To Smoke And Evacuation of Century Grocery Store
May 27, 2025
Smoke forced the evacuation of the Food Giant in Century Tuesday morning.
Firefighters responded after the store reported smoke and flickering lights about 11:19 a.m. Upon arrival, crews encountered moderate smoke throughout the store. Investigations revealed that one phase of the store’s three-phase electrical power, supplied by Florida Power & Light, had failed, leading to the smoking of electrical equipment.
They determined that a failure in one phase of the store’s three-phase power from Florida Power & Light caused electrical equipment to smoke. No injuries or fire damage were reported.
There were no injuries and no fire damage reported.
Initially unites were dispatched from the Century, McDavid, Walnut Hill and Molino stations of Escambia County Fire Rescue, along with thee Flomaton Fire Department and Atmore Fire Department. However, many of these units were ultimately canceled before reaching the scene.
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Man Charged After Allegedly Shooting At Occupied Century Residence
May 27, 2025
A man has been charged after allegedly firing shots directed at an occcupied residence in Century.
Trey Alexander Weekes is facing a series of serious charges following a domestic disturbance. He was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, firing a deadly missile into occupied dwelling, and possession of a weapon or ammunition by a convicted felon.
According to an arrest report, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to a residence on West State Line Road, just behind the Food Giant in Century around 9:30 p.m. on May 14 after receiving calls about shots fired. While en route, officers were notified that a vehicle matching the suspect’s description was stopped by Flomaton Police in nearby Alabama.
Weekes was the sole occupant of the vehicle stopped in Flomaton. A consensual search of the vehicle uncovered a .40 caliber magazine. A .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol was later located on Church Street in Flomaton, in the direction the suspect’s vehicle had been traveling. Weekes, who is a convicted felon, denied knowledge of the magazine’s presence in the vehicle, stating it belonged to his wife.
Further investigation revealed that Weekes had reportedly been involved in a verbal argument with a relative at the West State Line Road residence earlier that evening. Witnesses at the scene reported seeing Weekes outside the home with a gun. Deputies said residents inside the home took cover, and then 5 to 6 gunshots were heard. No injuries were reported, and no one inside the residence was struck. Deputies located what appeared to them to be five indentions in the dirt from gunshots with a possible strike mark on concrete at the front porch.
Weekes’ relative stated that they had argued earlier and that Weekes suffers from mental health issues exacerbated by methamphetamine abuse, according to the report. She also noted that Weekes had recently been released from prison and is on state probation in Alabama.
A criminal history check on Weekes revealed a felony conviction for rape, and he is listed on the sex offender registry in Alabama. Weekes was exhibited from Alabama on May 21 and remains in the Escambia County (Florida) Jail with bond set at $32,500.
Bay Minette PD Names ‘Armed And Dangerous’ Suspect Wanted in Fatal Shooting Of Atmore Man
May 27, 2025
Law enforcement is searching for a suspect after the shooting death of an Atmore man at a large party in Bay Minette.
On Monday, the Bay Minette Police Department identified the victim of a fatal Friday night shooting as 21-year-old Dyrontae Condarrly Booker of Atmore (pictured left inset).
Police said 28-year-old Decareus Keywon Mallory Andrews (pictured top) of Bay Minette is wanted for murder in connection with the shooting. BPD said he should be considered armed and dangerous.
Approximately 10:20 Friday night, a Bay Minette police officer was on routine patrol in the 900 block of Daphne Road when they heard gunshots. The officer observed a suspect fleeing on foot “from a residence where a large party was underway. The officer initiated a foot pursuit but lost sight of the suspect after several blocks.
Upon returning to the scene, the officer discovered Booker lying in the yard with multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to North Baldwin Infirmary where he later died.
“This was not a random act—the suspect and victim were known to each other,” Bay Minette Police said in a statement on Monday.
Anyone with information on the ongoing investigation is asked to call the Bay Minette Police Department at (251) 580-2559 or email to tips@ci.bay-minette.al.us.
Two Restaurants, Liquor Store Proposed For Beulah
May 27, 2025
A new development is being proposed for Beulah with two restaurants and a liquor store, according to a proposal filed this month with Escambia County.
Trinity Wild LLC is planning the Trinity Wilds Commercial Center at 9200 Mobile Highway, the “triangle” created by the Mobile Highway and West Nine-Mile Highway split west of the Beulah Fire Station.
The 18,690-square-foot multi-tenant building will contain a liquor store and restaurant; and a standalone 2,635-square-foot fast food-style restaurant would be located in the plaza. The four-acre parcel is not currently developed. Plans indicate the parking lot will have connections to both Nine Mile Road and Mobile Highway with 175 total parking spaces.
The names of the restaurants and liquor store have yet to be named.
The proposed project has not yet been set for review by the Escambia County Development Review Committee.
High School Seniors Return To Walk Elementary Hallways
May 27, 2025
High school graduates across Escambia County returned to their former elementary schools last week for one final walk through the hallways, a big congratulations from the elementary students, and big hugs from their former teachers.
In North Escambia, elementary schools participating included, Jim Allen, Bratt, Byrneville, Lipscomb, and Molino Park. For more photos, click here.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Kingsfield Road Over Eleven Mile Creek Bridge Work Schedule To Start Today
May 27, 2025
Motorists using the Kingsfield Road (County Road 186) bridge over Eleven Mile Creek will encounter lane restrictions started today, as crews begin guardrail repairs and general maintenance on the eastbound lane.
The work is expected to last approximately 45 days, weather permitting. During this period, traffic across the bridge will be reduced to one lane, with flaggers on site to direct vehicles while workers are present. Drivers are urged to exercise extra caution, adhere to road crew instructions, and follow all posted signs when traveling through the work zone.
While the construction is underway, residents, pedestrians, local traffic, and emergency vehicles will maintain access to properties within the affected area at all times. However, there may be brief instances where a driveway or entrance is temporarily blocked as equipment and materials are moved during the construction process.
Traffic Alert: This Week’s List Of Construction Slow Down Spots
May 27, 2025
Drivers will encounter traffic disruptions this week on the following state roads in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties as crews perform construction and maintenance activities.
Escambia County:
- Beulah Road (State Road (S.R.) 99) Resurfacing from Mobile Highway (S.R. 10A) to Isaacs Lane - Drivers will encounter intermittent lane closures on Beulah Road, from Nine Mile Road to Mobile Highway, Sunday, May 25 through Thursday, May 29, between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., for milling and paving operations. Signs will be in place to detour drivers around the work zone using Rebel Road.
- Brent Lane/Bayou Boulevard (S.R. 296) Resurfacing from Davis Highway (S.R. 291) to Baisden Road – Drivers will encounter intermittent lane closures on Brent Lane/Bayou Boulevard, from Davis Highway to Baisden Road, Tuesday, May 27 through Thursday, May 29, between 8 p.m. and 5:30 a.m., for manhole adjustments.
- Garden Street (Business U.S. 98) Construction from Pace Boulevard to the Interstate 110 (I-110) Ramp – The week of Sunday, May 25, drivers may encounter the following construction-related traffic disruptions:
- Garden Street, between Pace Boulevard and North Donelson Street, is reduced to two travel lanes (one in each direction), as crews perform construction activities on the south side of the street. This temporary traffic configuration will be in place through early 2026.
- Temporary side street closures south of Garden Street, from B Street to J Street, as crews perform utility and stormwater management enhancements.
- On-street parking is closed on the south side of Garden Street, between B Street and L Street. Additionally, periodic on-street parking closures will occur on Garden Street, between A Street and Alcaniz Street, for sidewalk and crosswalk improvements.
- Signage will be in place to direct drivers and pedestrians around the work zone.
- Michigan Avenue (S.R. 296) Resurfacing from Mobile Highway (U.S. 90) to North Palafox Street (U.S. 29) – Drivers may encounter intermittent lane closures on Michigan Avenue, from Mobile Highway to North Palafox Street, Tuesday, May 27 through Thursday, May 29, between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m., for milling and paving operations.
- Interstate Circle Bridge Over Eight Mile Creek Construction – Interstate Circle is closed at the Eight Mile Creek Bridge through mid-2025 while crews replace the bridge. Signs are in place to detour drivers around the work zone using Pine Forest Road, Longleaf Drive and Wymart Road.
- Interstate 10 (I-10) at Nine Mile Road Interchange (Exit 5) Construction – Drivers will encounter the following construction related traffic disruptions:
- Intermittent I-10 inside lane closures near the Nine Mile Road interchange, Tuesday, May 27 through Thursday, May 29, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
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- Nine Mile Road will be reduced to one travel lane in each direction between the I-10 ramps, Tuesday, May 27 through Friday, May 30, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Law enforcement will be on site, and directional signage will be in place to guide drivers through the work zone.
- I-10 at U.S. 29 Interchange (Exit 10) Construction – The week of Sunday, May 25, drivers will encounter the following construction-related traffic disruptions:
- The U.S. 29 southbound turn lane access to the I-10 eastbound on-ramp will be temporarily shortened Monday, May 26 through Thursday, May 29, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The reduced turn-lane length is required for daytime construction activities and will reopen nightly from 5 p.m. to 9 a.m.
- I-10 between U.S. 29 and I-110, is reduced to two travel lanes in each direction.
- The U.S. 29 northbound ramp to I-10 eastbound is closed. U.S. 29 northbound drivers are being detoured to make a U-turn at Broad Street onto U.S. 29 southbound to access I-10 eastbound.
- Pine Forest Road (S.R. 297) Resurfacing from Mobile Highway (U.S. 90) to Blue Angel Parkway (S.R. 173) – The week of Sunday, May 25, drivers may encounter intermittent lane closures on Pine Forest Road, from Mobile Highway to Blue Angel Parkway, between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m., for milling and paving operations.
- I-10 Routine Bridge Maintenance over Escambia Bay – Motorists may encounter intermittent eastbound lane closures east of U.S. 90 Tuesday, May 27 and Wednesday, May 28 from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. for routine bridge maintenance.
Santa Rosa County:
- U.S. 90 Resurfacing from west of Avalon Boulevard to east of Stewart Street – Drivers may encounter intermittent U.S. 90 lane closures, between Avalon Boulevard and Stewart Street, Tuesday, May 27 through Thursday, May 29, from 7 p.m. to 5:30 a.m., for shoulder work and placement of thermoplastic striping.
- U.S. 90 Bridge Replacement over Simpson River – Drivers on U.S. 90 may encounter intermittent lane closures over the Simpson River Bridge, Monday, May 26 through Thursday, May 29, between 8 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. as crews perform bridge construction work. Drivers are reminded that the speed limit is 35 mph through the work zone.
- S.R. 87 Resurfacing, from south of East Bay Boulevard (County Road 399) to Vonnie Tolbert Road – Drivers may encounter intermittent lane closures on S.R. 87, from East Bay Boulevard to Vonnie Tolbert Road, Tuesday, May 27 through Friday, May 30, between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., for milling and paving operations.
- S.R. 281 (Avalon Boulevard) Bridge Rehabilitation over Garcon Point Bridge – Motorists will encounter intermittent lane closures Tuesday, May 27 through Friday, May 30 from 9 a.m. to 4 a.m. for construction activities.
- U.S. 98 Widening from Bayshore Road to Portside Drive – Motorists will encounter the following traffic impacts:
- Median and turn-lane closures from Bayshore Road to Tiger Lake Drive.
- Intermittent lane closures and additional median closures between Bayshore Road and Tiger Lake Drive, Sunday, May 25, through Friday, May 30, from 9 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. for paving operations.
- New traffic configuration beginning Wednesday, May 28, as all lanes north of U.S. 98 on S.R. 281 at the intersection will be shifted east for pedestrian crosswalk improvements. Additionally, all lanes south of US 98 at the same intersection (Walmart entrance) will be shifted east for pedestrian crosswalk improvements.
All activities are weather dependent and may be delayed or rescheduled in the event of inclement weather
She Said Yes! — Blue Wahoos Proposal A Home Run
May 27, 2025
It was an out of the park home run Saturday night at the Wahoos game.
U.S. Marine Zach proposed to his girlfriend Natalie moments before the two launched the post-game fireworks show The marriage proposal was a choreographed effort between the Blue Wahoos and Zach.
Zach ricked his fiancé into believing they were chosen to start the fireworks launched. Before the countdown began, he then dropped to one knee and proposed. She said yes, as the two hugged and she was stunned with emotion as the crowd cheered. Then the fireworks began.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
‘I Didn’t Get To Come Home…I Died Doing Something Meaningful’
May 26, 2025
For Memorial Day, we share the story of the death of local Marine LCpl. Travis M. Nelson, who gave his life in Afghanistan on August 18, 2011.
Gold Star Mom Beckie Nelson spoke with NorthEscambia.com a decade after Nelson’s death and her son’s ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan.
I Died Doing Something Meaningful.
And she shared with us a short, simple note LCpl Travis Nelson left behind in his field book just in case he did not return.
“Dear friends & family, If your reading this it seems I didn’t get to come home. I love each and every one of you and I want you to know I have no regrets. I died doing something meaningful.”
He died a few short weeks after writing that note.
Beckie Nelson clings to those words that provided her peace and understanding.
“We received Travis’ belongings weeks after the funeral. The emotions we felt as we opened the trunk are unexplainable. Still in disbelief, our hearts still in pieces, it was gut wrenching to say the least. When I saw this page I closed the book, laid down on his bed with it in my arms and I actually slept for the first time in weeks.”
Growing Up With A Promise To His Mother
A young Travis Nelson grew up in Bratt, just two doors down from the modern day Travis M. Nelson Park that was named in his memory about a year after its 2010 opening.
He would play on those very grounds, shooting his BB gun and riding his go cart. His first love in his young life was fishing. At four years old, he would spend hours with relatives fishing on the Escambia River. No matter how old he got, he never gave up the love for a fishing pole and hook. He also loved playing baseball at Northwest Escambia’s Bradberry Park in Walnut Hill.
On Sept., 11, 2001, Travis Nelson was nine years old when America was attacked. He was not playing; he was fixated on the news.
And he made a promise that day. The kind of promise to a mother that a young man will do anything to uphold.
“I’ll never forget him saying ‘Momma, I will protect you. I will be a soldier’,” Beckie Nelson said.
The family last saw Travis on July 13, 2011, as he deployed for Afghanistan. Their last phone conversation was Monday, August, 15, 2011, as he requested items for a care package.
That care package was still sitting by the front door three days later. It never made it to the mail.
August 18, 2011.
It was about noon on Thursday, August 18, 2011, at the Nelson home in Bratt.
An American flag fluttered in the breeze on the porch.
And three men in military uniforms stood at the door. Beckie Nelson knew what that meant.
“I just screamed and said no,” she said. “I just went to my knees and said don’t let them come in. I knew right away that he was gone.”
My Biggest Fear
The next day, Beckie Nelson sat in the middle of her bed with a laptop, reading the scores of reader comments on a NorthEscambia.com story about Travis Nelson’s death.
“He really was our hero,” she said, clutching a 5×7 photo of her son.
“I didn’t think I could see past that day. I felt like it would always be that day. I didn’t imagine that I could ever talk about it,” she said. “But I can, and it has to do with the support groups, the military support groups, and the community support.”
She was remarkably strong as she talked about the heart wrenching pain of that day.
But during our interview, her voice broke.
“My biggest fear,” she said before pausing. “My biggest fear was that Travis would be forgotten. I was scared I was going to forget.”
A Fallen Marine Returns.
LCpl. Travis M. Nelson was never forgotten.
The rain poured down at Pensacola Naval Air Station August 24, 2011, as Nelson’s body arrived on the final leg of his journey home.
Outside the main gate of Pensacola NAS, people gathered to pay their respects to the young soldier. The rain did not send them running; they stood silently — many holding American flags — as the hearse carrying an American hero departed on a 55-mile journey to Atmore.
Along the way, some of Pensacola’s busiest roadways came to a complete standstill as the motorcade passed. Many motorists stood outside their vehicles and paid their respects.
In Walnut Hill, just a few miles from Nelson’s boyhood home in Bratt, the motorcade slowed as it approached Ernest Ward Middle School. Nelson was a Golden Eagle, attending Ernest Ward in the sixth and seventh grades.
Hundreds of Ernest Ward Middle School students and teachers dressed in red, white and blue lined Highway 97, American flags in hand, waiting for the arrival of the motorcade.
Several of Nelson’s middle school teachers were among the crowd that suddenly grew silent as the first sirens could be heard. As the procession passed, the students stood with their hands over their hearts, waving Old Glory. The thunder of 127 Patriot Guard motorcycle riders vibrated the ground and echoed across the country fields near the school.
Six Florida Highway Patrol trooper vehicles led the hearse past the school. Many students and teachers broke down in tears at the sight of a flag draped coffin. Others cried as they made eye contact with Nelson’s parents and their daughter — who was a sixth grader at Ernest Ward at the time.
“I look back at those pictures now,” Beckie Nelson said. “Those pictures from the middle school. It meant so much. Those kids are now fathers, mothers, some are now serving in the military.”
My Travis.
“Travis knew at nine years old that nothing was going to hold him back. That was his heart’s desire,” Beckie Nelson said 10 years later. “That’s what he wanted to do with his life.”
“God had a greater plan for my Travis.”
Above: NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Scouts, Marines, Other Volunteers Place Over 50,000 Flags At Barrancas National Cemetery
May 26, 2025
Scouts, Marines, and other volunteers place flags on about 50,000 graves Barrancas National Cemetery on NAS Pensacola.
Each flag honors the men and women who lost their lives while serving our country.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
