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Escambia Grad On Sports Illustrated Cover

An Escambia County School graduate is featured on the cover this week’s Sports Illustrated — and Crimson Tide fans are not going to want to miss it.

Sophomore Alabama running back Trent Richardson appears on the cover, leaping over a defender from San Jose State during the Tide’s season-opening 48-3 win. He is a graduate of Escambia High School.

Saturday was Richardson’s first starting game, with 146 yards and two touchdowns.

The “College Football Opening Statements. Breakout Players and Programs in Week 1″ cover is the fifth cover for the Crimson Tide in a year — more than any other pro or college team. It marked the ninth SI cover since Nick Saban took over in January 2007.

Man Bitten By Rattlesnake, Airlifted To Hospital

A 28-year old man bitten by a rattlesnake Monday evening was airlifted to a Pensacola hospital.

John Derrek Giddins suffered the bite on his ankle while in the backyard of his home on South Highway 99 between Walnut Hill and Bay Springs near the railroad crossing. Giddins told authorities that the rattlesnake was in a flower pot that he had stepped over.  The snake was not captured.

The incident occurred about 6:40 p.m. Within minutes, the Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue was on scene, along with Atmore Ambulance. Giddiens was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola by a LifeFlight helicopter that landed his front yard.  Giddins remained hospitalized early Wednesday morning.

Pictured above: A man apparently bitten by a rattlesnake Monday evening was airlifted to Sacred Heart Hospital. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.

Sex Offender Busted After Failing To Show Up For Jail

A convicted sex offender that was living in the Davisville area has been taken into custody after he skipped out on jail time for failing to report his current address to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Michael J. Lassiter, 58, pleaded guilty July 9 to one charge of failure to report a change in his residence as required by Florida’s sexual offender laws. He was to turn himself in on July 19 to begin serving a 364 day sentence, but he was a no-show in court and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Lassiter is now is behind bars at the Escambia County Jail after being taken into custody September 3.

He  was convicted of molesting a juvenile in November, 1998, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. He was released from a Louisiana prison and reported his address to be 4699 Highway 168, Walnut Hill and had also reported 5701 Highway 168, Century.

When the FDLE was unable to make contact by mail with Lassiter at either address in January and April of 2009, they sent Escambia County deputies to look for him. Deputies discovered the 5701 Highway 168 address does not exist; there are no address numbers that high on Highway 168.

Authorities then met with the property owner at the address at 4699 Highway 168. The property owner said Lassiter had been given permission to stay in a shed at the address. They found an empty refrigerator and bed rails in the shed, but no obvious indications that anyone was still living there.

In September, 2009, the FDLE met with a female that said she had allowed Lassiter to stay at her address at 9981 Highway 97 in Davisville. Lassiter, according to the FDLE, never registered the address as required by law.

A few days later, Lassiter was spotted at the 4699 Highway 168 address.

FDLE obtained a warrant for Lassiter’s arrest and he was first  arrested in February for failure to update his address. He was released on bond to await trail in July.

Funeral Services Schedued For Elderly Couple Involved In Flomaton Wreck

Funeral services will be held Thursday for an elderly couple that died following an August 30 accident in Flomaton that also claimed the lives of a nine-year old boy and his father. The accident happened August 30 at the intersection of Highway 113 and Highway 31 in Flomaton.

Visitation services for Edward Bradford,80, and Alice Bradford, 79, will be held Wednesday from 5 until 7 p.m. at Faith Chapel North in Cantonment. A joint mass of Christian burial will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church with interment to follow with full military honors at Barrancas National Cemetery aboard Naval Air Station Pensacola.

Over a distinguished 31-year military career, Edward Bradford served in command and staff positions throughout the United States and Germany, including combat tours in Korea and Vietnam. He attended the Army Command and General Staff College and his final assignment was editor-in-chief of Military Review Magazine. Upon retirement in 1980 he joined the faculty of Marion Military Institute and retired in 1993 as vice president and moved to Pensacola. Alice Bradford worked as a nurse.

Edward Bradford, 80, of Pensacola, passed away Friday at Sacred Heart Hospital as a result of injuries he received in the August 30 wreck. His wife, Alice Bradford, 79, was pronounced dead shortly after being flown to Baptist Hospital in Pensacola August 30. The couple had been married for 58 years.

Bay Minette residents Stephen Carl Thompson, 33, and his son, Nathan, 9, died instantly in the accident about 2:30 p.m. August 30 at the intersection of Highway 113 and Highway 31. Funeral services for the father and son were held last Saturday in Bay Minette.

For more on the accident and additional photos, click here. For more on the Thompson family, click here.

Pictured above: All four victims in this accident have died. Edward Bradford and his wife Alice were in the silver car to the left and were airlifted to a Pensacola hospital. Stephen Carl Thompson and his nine-year old son Nathan were pronounced dead in the maroon car to the right. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.

Alzheimer’s Support Group To Meet Wednesday

Alzheimer’s Family Services provides monthly support groups for family members or friends coping with a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease.

A support group meeting will take place Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. at Century United Methodist Church at 530 Church Street. The support group is free but registration is required to attend, and respite care is available in most locations.

Support Groups are a means for caregivers and others interested in learning more about Alzheimer’s disease to exchange ideas, gather information and discuss their concerns with others who are dealing or have dealt with the same issues. To register for this support group or for additional information, call (850) 478-7790 or visit www.AlzFamServ.org.

Alzheimer’s Family Services is a not-for-profit organization serving individuals and families in Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, and Walton counties in Florida as well as Escambia County in Alabama. Our mission is to provide education and emotional support through a variety of services including: memory screens, support groups, tracking devices for wandering patients, respite, and counseling. AFS is an affiliate of Covenant Hospice.

Equine Group Makes Plea For Help

A local equine rescue group is putting out an emergency plea for help after being hit with an unexpected large vet bill from an injured horse.

Panhandle Equine rescued two horses  — Raven and Racer — from Highway 168 near Century in April, 2008. Raven, an Arabian mare, cut her back foot very badly on July 5. She underwent weeks of rehabilitation, a cast and numerous trips to a veterinarian.  A Panhandle Equine Rescue volunteer provided the needed transportation and a stall for Raven.

On Saturday, the non-profit group received a vet bill for $1,648.87, according to PER President Diane Lowery.

“This is a huge expense for us since donations have been at an all time low with the economy situation,” Lower said. “It has been a long time since PER has asked for donations, but we are pleading with the community to please help!”

“Even just five or 10 dollars will help if we can get enough people to show their support,” she said.

For more information about Panhandle Equine Rescue and how to help financially or to foster a horse, visit www.panhandleequinerescue.org.

Pictured above: Raven with her bandaged rear foot. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

In HIS Steps Dance Classes Offered In Molino

A Molino church will be hosting dance classes from the In HIS Steps Christian Dance Studio and Performing Arts Center.

Classes will be held on Tuesdays at Highland Baptist Church on Highway 95A. The monthly fee is $30 per child with no registration fee. Discounts are available for children from the same family.

In HIS Steps classes offered will include  ballet, tumbling, lyrical and funky jazz.

For more information, click here (pdf).

Tropical Storm Hermine Forms In Gulf Of Mexico

Tropical Storm Hermine formed in the Gulf of Mexico Monday morning.

The eighth storm of the Atlantic hurricane season was located off the Mexican coast, and tropical storm warning were issued for the Texas coast. The latest information on Hermine is located in the graphic above, click to enlarge.

Flomaton Wreck Claims Fourth Life

The fourth person involved in a wreck last Monday in Flomaton has died.

Edward Bradford, 80, of Pensacola, passed away at Sacred Heart Hospital as a result of injuries he received in the August 30 wreck, according to family friends. His wife, Alice Bradford, 79, was pronounced dead shortly after being flown to Baptist Hospital in Pensacola last Monday.

Bay Minette residents Stephen Carl Thompson, 33, and his son, Nathan, 9, died in the accident about 2:30 p.m. August 30 at the intersection of Highway 113 and Highway 31. Funeral services for the father and son were held Saturday in Bay Minette.

Thompson and his son were  traveling north on Highway 31 when they were broadsided at a high rate of speed by a vehicle driven by Alice Bradford.

The impact of the  crash pushed both vehicles off the highway into  a service bay at Rowland’s Tires. Witnesses said they never heard the screech of tires as either car braked. They said all they heard was what sounded like an explosion.

Pictured above: All four victims in this accident have died. Edward Bradford and his wife Alice were in the silver car to the left and were airlifted to a Pensacola hospital. Stephen Carl Thompson and his nine-year old son Nathan were pronounced dead in the maroon car to the right. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.

Labor Day: 25,000 In The Area Out Of Work

On  Labor Day, the latest unemployment data showed that 25,159 people are out of work in our three county area — an increase of over 2,000 since last year.

In Escambia County (Fla.), the latest employment data for July shows 11 percent of the workforce unemployed, a slight increase from the month before at 10.8 percent. That translates to 15,715 unemployed in the county.

In Santa Rosa County, the unemployment rate was at 10.8 percent, up from 9.7 percent the month prior. That equals 7,880 unemployed persons.

In Escambia County (Ala.), 10.9 percent of workers were out of a job, down from 12 the month before. There were 1,564 unemployed in the county.

Pictured: This graphic shows the unemployment rate over the last 10 years in the three county North Escambia area. Click to enlarge.

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