Flippin’ For A Cure Pancake Breakfast To Benefit Relay
March 27, 2012
The Atmore Community Hospital Relay for Life team will be “Flippin’ For a Cure” Saturday with an all you can eat pancake breakfast.
The breakfast will include endless pancakes, with a side of sausage, juice and coffee. The event is $8 for adults, $5 for children 10 and under. The breakfast will take place from 6:30 a.m. until 10 a.m. at Nan’s Main Street Grill (the former Pintoli’s) in downtown Atmore.
Florida Special Olympics Torch Run Begins In Century (With Gallery)
March 26, 2012
The 2012 Law Enforcement Torch Run in support of Florida Special Olympics began in Century Monday morning.
The torch run started at the Florida/Alabama state line in the Food Giant parking lot about 7:15 Monday. Employees from Century Correctional Institution escorted the torch down Highway 29.
The Law Enforcement Torch Run is an event to raise awareness and support for the Special Olympics.
Law enforcement officers from over 300 Florida agencies (police departments, sheriff’s offices, Florida Department of Corrections, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Agency, U.S. Customs, Air Force Police and Marine Patrol) all participate in the state-wide torch run to benefit the athletes of Special Olympics Florida. Each year, over 5,000 officers carry the torch on a 1500-mile relay through 66 counties in Florida.
For a photo gallery from the start of the run, click here.
Pictured: The 2012 Law Enforcement Torch Run in support of Florida Special Olympics begins in Century Monday morning. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
4-H Kids Vote Delayed On Sale Of Langley Bell To Navy Federal
March 26, 2012
It will now likely be April or even later before the youth of Escambia County 4-H vote on a multimillion dollar offer from Navy Federal Credit Union for the Langley Bell 4-H Center in Beulah.
A definite date for the vote has not yet been set as the 4-H group works to get more answers to their questions about the land sale to Navy Federal and land swap with the county.
Under the Langley Bell 4-H Center property deed, the children that make up the 4-H County Council must approve any sale of the 240 acres.
Navy Federal has offered $4.5 million for the property, plus Escambia County is willing to spend $1.5 from local option sales tax monies to build the 4-H’ers a new facility at the Escambia County Extension Office on Stefani Road in Cantonment. The facility would include a new building and pond on the 23-acre parcel.
Navy Federal has said that if the sale is rejected, new jobs for the company in Escambia County would be difficult. The company is adding about 400 jobs per year, soon reaching capacity at their current 65-acre campus.
At a late February meeting, many 4-H members made it clear they were not immediately sold on the ideal of selling the property.
Escambia County Commissioners are trustees of the land, according to the deed. Commissioners could possible overrule the 4-H Council should they vote against the land sale, but that’s not totally clear.
4-H supporter Dr. M. Langley Bell, Jr. donated 400 acres to Escambia County for the Langley Bell 4-H Center. The center, which is now 240 of the original 400 acres, is used for events such as 4-H camps, retreats, timber projects, livestock projects, and as a meeting site for extension agents. The Langley Bell 4-H Center comprises about 240 acres of the original 400 acres. Four cabins, a kitchen, meeting hall, nature trails, forestry and livestock educational areas, barns, pastures, a 5-acre lake, and a campfire circle are part of the 4-H center’s learning environment.
Pictured top: Navy Federal wants to purchase the The Langley Bell 4-H Center and their 240 acres in Beulah. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Fire Destroys Canoe Home
March 26, 2012
Fire destroyed a single story wood frame home in Canoe, Ala., Sunday night.
The fire was reported about 10:20 p.m. at 11 Randolph Avenue, at the intersection of North Canoe Road and just northwest of Escambia Academy. The home was reported to be fully engulfed when the first firefighters arrived on scene.
Preliminary information indicated that no one was living in the home at the time of the fire.
There was no immediate word of any injuries. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.
The Wawbeek, Atmore and multiple other volunteer fire departments responded to the fire.
Pictured top: Fire rips through a home in Canoe Sunday night. Pictured below: The home was still smoldering Monday morning. NorthEscambia.com and reader submitted photos, click to enlarge.
Charges Dropped Against Century Man Accused Of Stealing Boat, Motors
March 26, 2012
Charges have been dropped against a Century man accused of stealing a boat and two motors in Florida that were sold as scrap in Alabama.
Joshua Duane Griffis, 24, was charged with grand theft in October 2011 for allegedly stealing used boat motors and a 14-foot aluminum boat from a yard on Elsie Davis Road in Century. Griffis was accused of later selling the boat and motors to Advanced Environmental Recycling in Flomaton along with a Ford vehicle catalytic converter for $120.44.
Search Continues For Melinda Wall McGhee, Missing For Nine Years
March 26, 2012
Nine years ago the morning of March 24, something went terribly wrong at a home on Kent Road north of Atmore. Melinda Wall McGhee, then 31, returned to her home about 8 a.m. after working the night shift as a nurse at a Bay Minette nursing home.
Her husband, Troy McGhee, was at work at Masland Carpets in Atmore. Their two children were at a babysitter, and Troy’s son from a previous relationship was at a dentist’s office. At about 8:30 the morning of March 24, 2003, Melinda McGhee spoke to her mother on the phone. It was the last time anyone known to Melinda would ever hear from her.
At about 4:00 that afternoon, husband Troy came home to find Melinda missing. There was blood and evidence of a violent struggle inside the home. He reported his wife missing.
Melinda’s vehicle was found parked near the house with her keys locked inside. Her purse and cellular phone were inside the residence. Foul play is suspected in her disappearance.
Over the years, there have been several searches for Melinda’s body or clues into the circumstances surrounding her disappearance.
In March 2009, authorities searched an area off Perry Lane in Wawbeek for clues in Melinda’s disappearance. Perry Lane is about a mile north of Highway 31 off Sardis Church Road near Old Atmore Road. The location is about three miles north of the Florida/Alabama line . On the last day of January 2009, authorities searched a water-filled gravel pit off Jack Springs Roads near the Judson Cemetery between Atmore and Poarch. All of the searches have turned up empty.
Anyone with information on McGhee’s disappearance is asked to call the Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff’s Department at (251) 809-0741 or their local law enforcement agency.
Pictured above: Two photos of Melinda Wall McGhee who went missing in March 2003.
Ransom FFA Participates In FFA Livestock Event
March 26, 2012
The Ransom Middle School FFA Chapter Livestock Team recently participated in the Florida FFA Livestock Career Development Event (CDE) at the Central Florida Fair in Orlando.
The team included Anabella Garcia, Patra Miller, Connor Groff, and Alexis Hoskins.
Fifty-five teams from throughout Florida gathered to compete for the top spot. The purpose of the Middle School Livestock Evaluation CDE is to stimulate learning activities related to the production and marketing of cattle, swine and other livestock.
Ransom was the only team from Escambia County to participate in this event.
Learn To Do Business With ECUA Workshop
March 26, 2012
The Emerald Coast Utilities Authority will host a a “how to do business” this week.
The informational meeting will educate attendees about the potential of doing business with the ECUA, while increasing participation in obtaining future ECUA contracts. There will also be a discussion about the new requirements for payment and performance bonds. Attendees will also learn about the bidding process, qualification requirements, future business opportunities, and how the ECUA hiring process is conducted.
ECUA speakers will include Bill Johnson, director of engineering, Peter Wilkinson, purchasing and store manager, Lydia Fortin, representative of human resources and administrative services, and Mountie Bedford, MBE Underwriting.
The event will take place Thursday, March 29 from 6-7:30 p.m. at the the Sanders Beach-Corinne Jones Resource Center, 913 South “I” Street in Pensacola.
No Injuries In Highway 97 Rollover Crash; Close Call For Homeowner
March 25, 2012
There were no injuries in a single vehicle crash Sunday afternoon on Highway 97 in Walnut Hill that may have been a very close call for a homeowner.
The accident happened about 2:30 p.m. just south of Arthur Brown Road and Ernest Ward Middle School. The driver of a Chevrolet Impala was northbound on Highway 97 when he lost control, ran off the road, hit a driveway, struck a mailbox and overturned into the front yard of a home. The driver was not injured; there were no passengers in the vehicle. The driver said he lost control due a smaller spare tire on the front of the vehicle.
The homeowner said she had just returned from the store with flowers that she just was moments away from planting around the mailbox.
The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.
Pictured above: There were no injuries in this single vehicle wreck Sunday afternoon on Highway 97 in Walnut Hill. Pictured left inset: The homeowner had just returned from the store with flowers to plant around this mailbox when the crash occurred. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Molino Man Dies Following Highway 97 Wreck
March 25, 2012
A Molino man seriously injured in serious Highway 97 wreck late last month has died.
Kenneth Ray Spivey, 71, passed away at a Pensacola hospital. He was involved in a near head-on wreck south of Walnut Hill about 10 p.m. on February 29.
The Florida Highway Patrol said Spivey was southbound in the northbound lane of Highway 97 in a 2010 Chrysler 300 sedan when he collided with a Chevrolet Silverado pickup driven by Guy E. Giancola. Giancola swerved to avoid the impact, but the front left of both vehicles collided.
The car came to rest in the southbound lane of Highway 97; the pickup came to rest in a nearby ditch.
All three people in the crash– two in the pickup and one in the car — were trapped in their vehicles. First responders were forced to use the Jaws of Life to free them.
Giancola and his 63-year old passenger, Gail L. Giancola, were transported to Sacred Heart Hospital in serious condition. Spivey was charged with driving on the wrong side of the roadway, according to the FHP.
For more photos from the scene, click here.
Pictured top: Kenneth Ray Spivey was trapped in this car in a two-vehicle wreck February on Highway 97 near Walnut Hill. Pictured inset and below: Firefighters use the Jaws of Life to free two people from this pickup. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
