Elderly Century Woman Cited After Three Vehicle Wreck
December 30, 2011
A 77-year old Century woman was cited after a three vehicle crash Thursday afternoon on North Century Boulevard.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Margaret Smith Bell pulled her 2000 Buick LaSabre from a stop sign at Hecker Road and North Century Boulevard into the path of two other vehicles.
She collided with a 2012 Toyota Yaris occupied by driver Qunesha Tunya Bowen, 33, and Arielle Monique Brown, 22, both of Douglasville, GA. The Yaris then collided with the left front trailer axle of a 2005 Freightliner semi driven by William Randolph Ballard, 46, of Milton.
Bowen and Brown suffered minor injuries and were transported by ambulance to Jay Hospital. Bell and Ballard were not injured.
Bell was charged with violation of right of way at a stop intersection, according to the FHP.
Escambia Extends Voter Registration Hours
December 30, 2011
The Escambia County Supervisor of Elections Office will be open extended hours – until 7:00 p.m. – on Tuesday, January 3 to accommodate citizens who wish to register to vote or change party affiliation for the upcoming Presidential Preference Primary election. January 3 is the last day to register or change parties before the January 31, 2012 election.
Florida law mandates that registration books close 29 days before an election. With the observance of the New Year’s Day holiday occurring on Monday, January 2, new registrations and party changes must be completed or postmarked no later than January 3 in order for them to be effective for the Presidential Preference Primary. Address updates, signature updates, and other changes can be made after the books close. If you are unsure of your registration status, visit EscambiaVotes.com and click Am I Registered?, or call (850) 595-3900.
Escambia County citizens have several ways to register or update their records:
Online/By Mail: Visit EscambiaVotes.com and complete, print, and sign the online application. Be sure to include a valid Florida Driver’s License number, a valid Florida ID number, or the last four digits of your Social Security Number in the appropriate space. Mail the completed application no later than January 3 to Escambia County Supervisor of Elections, P.O. Box 12601, Pensacola, FL 32591-2601. Or, take the completed application to the Elections Office at 213 Palafox Place, second floor, in downtown Pensacola. Or, call 850-595-3900 or email the Elections Office, soe@escambiavotes.com, to have a form mailed to you.
In Person: You can register at the Elections Office at 213 Palafox Place, second floor, in downtown Pensacola, at any Florida Driver’s License Office, and several other governmental offices and public assistance centers. Registration forms are also available at many locations throughout the county. For a complete list of locations throughout Escambia County, visit EscambiaVotes.com, call or email the Elections Office.
Three Percent Property Tax Discount Ending
December 30, 2011
All four Escambia County Tax Collector offices will be open normal business hours today — 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. — for persons paying their 2011 real estate and tangible personal property taxes who want to receive the 3% discount and have their receipt dated for 2011.
Payments made on December 31 will be accepted if mailed with a postmark, paid online at www.escambiataxcollector.com or by after-hours automated telephone at (800) 601‑1055, or left in a 24-hour drop box available at all offices.
Since all offices are closed December 31, January 1 and 2, customers who make their payments in person at any tax collector office Tuesday, January 3, will receive the 3% discount, however, their payment will be dated January 3, not December 31, according to Escambia County Tax Collector Janet Holley.
2011 In Photos: June
December 30, 2011
All this week, we are looking back at the photos that were in the news in 2011. Today, we are featuring photos from June.
Hundreds of North Escambia area students graduated in June. Pictured above: Valedictorian Sarah Killam addresses the Northview High School Class of 2011.
Poplar Dell Baptist Church celebrated its 100th anniversary with the opening of a time capsule that had been hidden away for 50 years.
Temperatures topped the 100 degree mark in early June.
A mobile home in Bratt was sliced in half by a falling limb.
A pedestrian from McDavid died when he was struck by two semi-trucks hauling logs on Highway 29 in Bluff Springs.
A massive wildfire scotched over 1,500 acres north of Flomaton
Fire destroyed the media center at Pollard McCall School, just north of the Alabama/Florida line.
A farmer’s John Deere tractor and a Walnut Hill Water Works tower are dwarfed by a massive storm cloud west of Walnut Hill in mid June.
Low water levels from drought led to the discovery of an 1800’s era steamboat in the Escambia River near McDavid.
Drought led to near-historic lows on the Escambia River, including at the Molino Boat Ramp on Fairgrounds Road.
A major archaeological dig is underway near the Escambia River in Molino unearthed evidence of a 1740’s Spanish mission along with artifacts believed to be 6,000 years old.
Six people were involved in this two vehicle crash at Molino Road at Highway 29.
A Geraldine, Alabama, man died in this wreck at Fountain Prison in Atmore.
A participant is hit by a water balloon during an Escambia County Extension Service Water Camp at Lake Stone.
Connie Mack Leads GOP Field To Take On Bill Nelson
December 30, 2011
U.S. Rep. Connie Mack has a strong lead on his competitors for the GOP nomination to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, according to a new poll by TelOpinion Research.
The survey of 780 Republican voters, conducted from December 15-19, shows Mack — the son of a former senator and grandson of a famous baseball manager — carrying 39 percent of the vote, far outpacing the rest of the field.
Former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, tea-party favorite Mike McCalister and former state House Majority Leader Adam Hasner all trailed in single-digits. Former steakhouse executive Craig Miller, who was not included in the poll, has long been stuck in single-digits in other polls.
“Mack owns this at the moment, and it is his to lose,” said Bill Lee, a Republican pollster who co-founded TelOpinion and polled contested primary states for U.S. Sen. John McCain’s presidential bid in 2008. Lee’s firm is not working for any of the candidates or so-called Super PACs this cycle.
LeMieux had the largest share of the votes among the three contenders other than Mack included in the poll, with 6 percent. McCalister, who had shown some strength in earlier surveys, was at 5 percent. Despite winning a straw poll of statewide conservative activists earlier this year in Orlando, Hasner draws just 1 percent of the vote in the latest poll.
Mack’s support is strong across the board. He has 48 percent of the vote among tea-party supporters and 38 percent among those who don’t consider themselves members of the movement. Mack would get votes from Republicans across the ideological spectrum, from those who consider themselves “liberal” to those who consider themselves “very conservative,” according to the poll.
While LeMieux cracks double-digits in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale media market with 12 percent, Mack dominates the rest of the state, including getting the support of 65 percent of the voters in his home media market of Fort Myers-Naples.
But the poll also shows that a strong plurality of Republicans have yet to make up their mind about the race. Of those surveyed, 49 percent said they weren’t sure which candidate they would back in the primary. The poll has a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points.
“This is essentially a contest based on name ID at this point,” Lee said.
The poll largely jives with an earlier survey by Quinnipiac University, which found Mack getting 32 percent of the vote in the primary, with the other candidates all trailing in single digits.
By Brandon Larrabee
The News Service of Florida
Woman Now Charged For Abandoning Kids In Bratt
December 29, 2011
A Walnut Hill woman arrested last week in Atmore is now behind bars in Florida after allegedly abandoning five young children at a Bratt Park and driving under the influence to an Atmore business with another child in her vehicle.
Amber Rose Ryals, age 25 of North Pine Barren Road, was booked into the Escambia County (Fla.) Jail late Wednesday morning on multiple counts of cruelty toward a child and for failing to appear in court for violating her probation in a March 2010 driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident case. She remained in jail early Thursday morning with bond set at $27,500.
Ryals is charged in Alabama with driving under the influence of narcotics, theft of property and endangering the welfare of a child in Alabama.
Five children were found alone at the Lcpl. Travis M. Nelson Park near Northview High School about noon on December 19. A concerned citizen had noticed that the children, believed to range in age from 3 to 6, were alone in the park. She called the Escambia County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office and reported the situation.
Meanwhile in Atmore, employees at Burke’s Outlet on Lindberg Avenue reported to the Atmore Police Department that Ryals was in a vehicle directly in front of their store. They told police that they witnessed Ryals take a bottle of medication and numerous pills to the point where she was incoherent and confused.
Police said there was as small child about one year old in the backseat of the vehicle. Officers also discovered that she had taken several items from a nearby Fred’s store without paying for them. Ryals told Atmore Police that she could not remember how she got to Burke’s.
Ryals was transported by ambulance to Atmore Community Hospital for evaluation before being booked into the Escambia County (Ala.) Detention Center in Brewton.
The Alabama Department of Human Resources and the Florida Department of Children of Families are both investigating the incident.
Four of the six children involved in the incident belonged to Ryals, police said, while two were nieces or nephews. None of the children were injured. They were released into the custody of a relative.
Pictured top: A Walnut Hill woman is transported by ambulance from Burkes Outlet in Atmore after allegedly abandoning five children in a Bratt Park. Pictured bottom inset: The store manager at a nearby business comforts a child that was in the vehicle with Amber Rose Ryals. Pictured below: Ryals vehicle is searched by Atmore Police. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
East Pond Street In Century To Close Next Week
December 29, 2011
East Pond Street in Century will be closed next week for a scheduled drainage improvement project.
The street will be closed Monday through Friday from Jefferson Avenue west to Ramar Street near Highway 29, according to the Town of Century.
For more information, contact Century Town Hall at (850) 256-3208.
Traffic Stops Ends With 19-Year Old Facing Felony Drug Charge
December 29, 2011
A 19-year old Cantonment resident was charged with felony drug possession after a traffic stop not far from Tate High School.
An Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputy stopped Kyle Mason Driver on Tate Road at Planta Canada Drive due to window tint that was observed to be excessively dark. According to an arrest report, the deputy smelled what he believed to be the odor of burnt marijuana from his 2008 Ford F150. Driver refused to give the deputy consent to search the vehicle and a K-9 was called to the scene.
The K-9 alerted to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle. A search of the vehicle located 20 Oxycodone pills in the vehicle, according to deputies.
Driver was released from the Escambia County Jail on $5,000 bond.
Ernest Ward December Students Of Month Named
December 29, 2011
December Students of the Month have been named for Ernest Ward Middle School. They are (L-R) Hannah Godwin, sixth grade; Troy Stuckey, seventh grade; and Haley Brown, eighth grade. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
SEC Releases 2012 Schedules
December 29, 2011
The 2012 Southeastern Conference football game schedules were released Wednesday, including the addition of Texas A&M and Missouri.
Scheduled are as follows:
ALABAMA
Sept. 15: at Arkansas
Sept. 29: OLE MISS
Oct. 13: at Missouri
Oct. 20: at Tennessee
Oct. 27: MISSISSIPPI STATE
Nov. 3: at LSU
Nov. 10: TEXAS A&M
Nov. 24: AUBURN
ARKANSAS
Sept. 15: ALABAMA
Sept. 29: vs. Texas A&M
Oct. 6: at Auburn
Oct. 13: KENTUCKY
Oct. 27: OLE MISS
Nov. 10: at South Carolina
Nov. 17: at Mississippi State
Nov. 24: LSU
AUBURN
Sept. 8: at Mississippi State
Sept. 22: LSU
Oct. 6: ARKANSAS
Oct. 13: at Ole Miss
Oct. 20: at Vanderbilt
Oct. 27: TEXAS A&M
Nov. 10: GEORGIA
Nov. 24: at Alabama
FLORIDA
Sept. 8: at Texas A&M
Sept. 15: at Tennessee
Sept. 22: KENTUCKY
Oct. 6: LSU
Oct. 13: at Vanderbilt
Oct. 20: SOUTH CAROLINA
Oct. 27: vs. Georgia (Jacksonville)
Nov. 3: MISSOURI
GEORGIA
Sept. 8: at Missouri
Sept. 22: VANDERBILT
Sept. 29: TENNESSEE
Oct. 6: at South Carolina
Oct. 20: at Kentucky
Oct. 27: vs. Florida (Jacksonville)
Nov. 3: OLE MISS
Nov. 10: at Auburn
KENTUCKY
Sept. 22: at Florida
Sept. 29: SOUTH CAROLINA
Oct. 6: MISSISSIPPI STATE
Oct. 13: at Arkansas
Oct. 20: GEORGIA
Oct. 27: at Missouri
Nov. 3: VANDERBILT
Nov. 24: at Tennessee
LSU
Sept. 22: at Auburn
Oct. 6: at Florida
Oct. 13: SOUTH CAROLINA
Oct. 20: at Texas A&M
Nov. 3: ALABAMA
Nov. 10: MISSISSIPPI STATE
Nov. 17: OLE MISS
Nov. 24: at Arkansas
OLE MISS
Sept. 29: at Alabama
Oct. 6: TEXAS A&M
Oct. 13: AUBURN
Oct. 27: at Arkansas
Nov. 3: at Georgia
Nov. 10: VANDERBILT
Nov. 17: at LSU
Nov. 24: MISSISSIPPI STATE
MISSISSIPPI STATE
Sept. 8: AUBURN
Oct. 6: at Kentucky
Oct. 13: TENNESSEE
Oct. 27: at Alabama
Nov. 3: TEXAS A&M
Nov. 10: at LSU
Nov. 17: ARKANSAS
Nov. 24: at Ole Miss
MISSOURI
Sept. 8: GEORGIA
Sept. 22: at South Carolina
Oct. 6: VANDERBILT
Oct. 13: ALABAMA
Oct. 27: KENTUCKY
Nov. 3: at Florida
Nov. 10: at Tennessee
Nov. 24: at Texas A&M
SOUTH CAROLINA
Aug. 30: at Vanderbilt
Sept. 22: MISSOURI
Sept. 29: at Kentucky
Oct. 6: GEORGIA
Oct. 13: at LSU
Oct. 20: at Florida
Oct. 27: TENNESSEE
Nov. 10: ARKANSAS
TENNESSEE
Sept. 15: FLORIDA
Sept. 29: at Georgia
Oct. 13: at Mississippi State
Oct. 20: ALABAMA
Oct. 27: at South Carolina
Nov. 10: MISSOURI
Nov. 17: at Vanderbilt
Nov. 24: KENTUCKY
TEXAS A&M
Sept. 8: FLORIDA
Sept. 29: vs. Arkansas
Oct. 6: at Ole Miss
Oct. 20: LSU
Oct. 27: at Auburn
Nov. 3: at Mississippi State
Nov. 10: at Alabama
Nov. 24: MISSOURI
VANDERBILT
Aug. 30: SOUTH CAROLINA
Sept. 22: at Georgia
Oct. 6: at Missouri
Oct. 13: FLORIDA
Oct. 20: AUBURN
Nov. 3: at Kentucky
Nov. 10: at Ole Miss
Nov. 17: TENNESSEE