Driskells Celebrate 50th
August 21, 2011
Gene and Liley (Jernigan) Driskell recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with dinner and cake with family. Their family surprised them with a cruise to Mexico.
The Driskell’s were married on August 4, 1961, in Flomaton. During their life together they have enjoyed taking motorcycle trips alone and with friends. They also enjoyed having a houseboat on the Alabama river.
Gene was a meat cutter. Liley was a sewing machine operator at Vanity Fair. In 1976, they opened Driskell’s Grocery in Byrneville. They retired after 32 years of operating the store.
They are the proud parents of Lynette Brock and husband Kevin of Pace, and Allen Driskell and wife Michelle of Byrneville. They have three grandchildren, Jessica Johnson and husband Jeremy, Drake Allen Driskell, and Maddie Mae Driskell. The also have one great grandchild, Kayla Nicole Johnson.
Gene and Liley’s Parents were Allen and Lena (Emmons) Driskell and Lawrence and Nettie (Blanton) Jernigan.
Fallen Marine’s Family: He Was Our Hero
August 20, 2011
Their world was shattered about noon Thursday at the Nelson home in Bratt as three men in military uniforms stood at the door.
“I just screamed and said no,” Beckie said Friday, just over 24 hours after she learned that her son, LCpl Travis Nelson, was shot and killed while conducting combat operations in in Helmand province, Afghanistan. “I just went to my knees and said don’t let them come in. I knew right away that he was gone.”
Late Friday afternoon, Beckie sat holding a framed 5×7 photo of Travis. She has held onto the photo practically every moment since Thursday afternoon.
“He will always be our hero,” Scott Nelson said of their son.
Travis Nelson’s 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 did not go to the beach to swim or watch the girls in their bathing suits,” Beckie said. “He loved to fish.”
He also loved playing baseball at Northwest Escambia’s Bradberry Park in Walnut Hill. “He couldn’t tie his shoes; he would trip on his shoelaces. But he sure could hit those home runs,” she said with a smile.
The Nelsons knew that Travis wanted a career in the military from a young age, and they supported him. At 14, he joined the Young Marines of Pensacola.
“We talked it out for hours, Scott said. “He wanted to serve his country. I was so proud that he had a direction in his life.”
Beckie Nelson, who served in the Navy, also supported Travis’ decision to join the Marines, but she encouraged him to go into avionics, not the infantry.
“I knew he would be safer in a plane than he would with a gun in his hand,” Beckie said.
“But he would not have it that way. He would tell me that it did not always have to be somebody else serving in the infantry. He was not scared.”
Travis Nelson was set to marry Madeline Cates upon his return from Afghanistan. She moved to Bratt after he shipped out overseas, sleeping in his room. It made her feel closer to him.
The family last saw Travis on July 13 as he deployed for Afghanistan. Their last phone conversation was Monday as he requested items for a care package. That package still sits by the front door. It never made it to the mail.
Now the Nelsons, and Cates, await the return of Travis’ body from Afghanistan. His remains are scheduled to arrive at an Atmore funeral home mid-week. In the meantime, they work to comfort each other amongst family and friends.
And they’ve found great solace in the words of the community and complete strangers.
Beckie sat Friday afternoon in the middle her bed with a laptop, reading the scores of reader comments on a NorthEscambia.com story about Travis Nelson’s death.
“The support has been tremendous,” she said. “We want to thank everyone for their comments. When you read what they have say, especially the comments from complete strangers around the country, you know that what Travis did in 19 years was more than some people do in a lifetime.”
“He really was our hero.”
For an earlier story about the death of Travis Nelson and to read the comments mentioned in this story, click here.
Pictured: Scott and Beckie Nelson hold a photo of their fallen son, LCpl Travis Nelson, who died Thursday while serving in Afghanistan. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
County Worker Dies After Being Trapped In Ditch Under Mower
August 20, 2011
An Escambia County worker died Friday as the result of injuries he received when he was trapped last month in a deep ditch under an overturned mower.
Jerry W. Milam passed away at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola. He was mowing high grass and weeds on the shoulder of Olive Road about 9 a.m July 26 when he did not see a ditch. The mower fell about 15 feet into the ditch, struck a culvert and trapped the 64-year old underneath for about four hours.
A pedestrian discovered the accident several hours after Milam became trapped. It took rescue workers several minutes to free Milam from the ditch.
Arnold Found Guilty Of Murdering Pregnant Woman, Baby
August 20, 2011
A Cantonment man was found guilty Friday in the stabbing death of a pregnant Cantonment woman and her baby last summer, despite claims that the murders were self defense.
Phillip Arnold, 66, took the stand Friday, continuing to claim that he acted in self defense. He showed no emotion as the jury verdict was read — guilty of second degree murder for the death of Angela Brown, and first degree murder for the death of her baby. He will be sentenced on September 15.
“Yea, my name is Phillip Arnold. I did some stabbing up here on what’s the name of this road?…Stacey Road. “Tell police to come pick me up,” Arnold said in a 911 call on July 5, 2010.
Arnold claimed Brown had picked up knife and he stabbed her before she could stab him.
The state argued that Arnold planned the murder, saying that a witness claimed Arnold has stated that he was going to kill someone just before the murder. But the defense said the statement was just talk.
After the stabbing, Brown’s child was delivered in an emergency c-section and lived for seven hours later. The baby’s father said on the stand Thursday that Brown was six months pregnant, but defense attorneys said that was not the case and that the baby could not have survived on its own.
Pictured top: Double murder suspect Phillip Arnold took the stand in his own defense Friday. Photo courtesy WEAR 3 for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Back To School: Meet The Teacher
August 20, 2011
Bratt Elementary School students had an opportunity to meet their teacher and drop off supplies Friday morning. School will begin bright and early Monday morning, August 22.
Pictured above: Students drop off supplies during the Meet the Teacher event at Bratt Elementary School Friday morning. Pictured inset: Third grader Audrey Odom met her new teacher, Lisa Albritton. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
District 5 Commission Candidate Packy Mitchell Drops Republican Party
August 20, 2011
Escambia County Commission District 5 candidate Packy Mitchell is no longer running as a Republican.
As of Friday, Mitchell is now running as an independent for the seat currently held by Kevin White of Molino.
Mitchell, a resident of Neal Road inCantonment, ran unsuccessfully for the seat in 2008, finishing second among Republican candidates.
White has announced that he is running again as Republican. Republicans Sam Archer and Jim Taylor of Cantonment and Dennis Wiggins of Century, who is running with no party affiliation, have also prefiled.
Escambia Deputies Seek Two Sexual Battery Suspects
August 20, 2011
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying two individuals wanted for sexual battery.
The suspects are described as a white male with brown hair, approximately 5-foot-8 tall, and a black male with “dreads” pulled back in ponytail, approximately 6-feet tall.
The incident occurred on July 20 at around 10 p.m. as a 37-year-old woman was approached from behind by the suspects. They grabbed her arm and pulled her into an abandoned house in the 1900 block of West Yonge Street, where they forced her to have sexual intercourse. The woman was able to escape after the attack and flee with minor injuries.
Anyone who may have information related to this case is asked to contact the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Gulf Coast Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Pictured: Sketches of two suspects wanted for a sexual assault in Escambia County, click to enlarge.
Century Schedules Business Tax, Budget Workshops
August 20, 2011
Century has scheduled two special workshops — one to discuss next year’s budget and the other to discuss an increase in the local business tax.
The Century Town Council budget workshop will be held Thursday, September 1 at 1:30 p.m. at the Century Town Hall. Later that day, at 3:30 p.m., a workshop will be held to discus the implementation of a local business tax.
For more information on the local business tax being considered by Century, click here.
Burglary At Old Alger Sullivan Lumber Co. Under Investigation
August 19, 2011
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an apparent burglary at the former Alger-Sullivan Lumber Company in Century.
Nothing was reported missing from the abandoned building on Lumber Road near Front Street, according to Deputy Chris Welborn, spokesman for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. The incident was reported Thursday afternoon after someone noticed the burglary on the Jefferson Avenue side of the complex.
A crime scene unit was called to the scene as part of the investigation. So far, there have been no arrests.
Pictured above: A burglary was reported Thursday afternoon at the former Alger-Sullivan Lumber Company in Century. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Local Marine Travis Nelson Killed In Afghanistan
August 19, 2011
A local family learned Thursday that their 19-year old Marine son, LCpl Travis Nelson, was shot and killed while conducting combat operations in in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
Travis Nelson — a member of the 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. — had been in Afghanistan for about a month. His 19th birthday was just two weeks ago.
Travis attended Bratt Elementary School from the first through fifth grades and Ernest Ward Middle School through the seventh grade. His family then moved to Pace, where he attended Pace High School.
Travis grew up in a military family. Friends said Thursday night that they remember a young Travis always had two things on his mind — fishing and growing up to join the military.
“He had the military in his blood growing up,” said close family friend Janet Little Cooper of Bratt, who watched Travis grow up with her son. “That’s what he always wanted. He never faltered on that.”
Chris Chambliss agreed. He coached Travis in Northwest Escambia baseball at Bradberry Park in Walnut Hill.
“He talked about the military a lot when he was young. He always wanted to be a Marine when he became a young man,” he said.
His parents, Beckie and Scott Nelson, moved back to Bratt about a year ago. His sister, Anna, will begin the sixth grade Monday at Ernest Ward Middle School. Travis was engaged to Madeline Cates of Pace; She had recently moved to Bratt to live with the Nelson family to await Travis’ return from Afghanistan.
Funeral arrangements are not yet complete.
Pictured top and inset: LCpl Travis Nelson and his fiance Madeline Cates shortly before his deployment to Afghanistan. Pictured below: LCpl Travis Nelson. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
