Local Brothers Find Themselves Deployed To Same Base In Afghanistan
July 16, 2010
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Two brothers from Atmore have been been deployed to the same base in Afghanistan.
Many armed services personnel are separated from their families for a long period of time on a regular basis due to deployments. Although some military members have a spouse or other family member that is also in the military and deploys frequently, rarely are they deployed at the same time or to the same location.
In Afghanistan, two brothers have found themselves deployed, not only at the same time, but to the same location as well. U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Dempsey Walker, supply support activity platoon sergeant, Company A, Task Force Workhorse, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, Task Force Falcon, from Atmore, Ala., has spent 24 years in the Army and is currently on his fourth deployment. His brother, U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Nicholas Walker, a computer systems manager with the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Afghanistan, also from Atmore, has spent 17 years in the Air Force and is currently on his third deployment. Both are deployed to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan.
“This is the first time we have been deployed to the same base,” said Dempsey. “We were stationed in Korea at the same time and deployed to Iraq at the same time, but to different bases.”
“When I got here, my brother had already been here for six months,” said Nicholas. “It makes life here a lot easier, having a family member so close who can relate to what you are doing.”
Dempsey said he was anxious to join the military and chose the Army because it was able to let him join three months earlier than the other services. Nicholas, however, was not as anxious and made his decision based on the experiences of his brothers.
“We have an older brother that used to be in the Air Force,” said Nicholas. “After I talked to both my brothers, I decided the Air Force was right for me.”
According to Dempsey, the brothers get together at least once a week. They spend their time talking, going to church or just hanging out together. They usually eat at least one meal together whenever their schedules allow.
“It is nice to have a family member here to talk to,” said Dempsey. “Someone who is in the same location and situation and who can understand and relate to the types of problems that can pop up from time to time. In times like these, it is good to have your brother by your side.”
Pictured: U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Nicholas Walker (right), a computer systems manager with the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Afghanistan, sites and talks with his brother U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Nicholas Walker (left), a computer systems manager with the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Afghanistan recently at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. Photo by U.S. Army Sft. Robert Healy, Task Force Workhorse, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
BP Stops Oil Leak In The Gulf
July 15, 2010
BP says that the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico has been stopped for the first time since the spill began in April.
The announcement came after all of the valves were shut Thursday afternoon on a new cap placed on the well earlier this week. According to BP, this is a not a permanent fix. A long-term solution will come in the form of relief wells being drilled to plug the leaking well below the sea floor with concrete.
“It felt very good not to see any oil going into the Gulf of Mexico,” said BP Senior Vice President Kent Wells during a briefing. “”What I’m trying to do is maintain my emotions. This is the start of our test.”
Engineers are monitoring the pressure inside the cap to see if the fix will hold.
More details will be posted on this breaking story as they become available.
Pictured: BP works to pressure test their oil spill fix in the Gulf of Mexico Thursday afternoon.
FDLE: North Escambia Driver In FHP Shootout Suffered Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound
July 15, 2010
A statement released this morning by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement provides more details about Wednesday’s officer-involved shooting on Pine Forest Road:
“The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is investigating a July 14 shooting incident involving the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP). The incident occurred during a traffic stop conducted by Trooper Michael Black near Longleaf Drive in the 7000 block of Pine Forest Road in Pensacola, Fla. Preliminary investigative findings indicate that both the subject and trooper discharged their firearms.
“The incident resulted in the death of Clifton Austin Salter, 59, of Cantonment, Fla. Salter died at the scene. FDLE was asked by the FHP to conduct an independent investigation of the shooting. The investigation is being conducted by FDLE’s Pensacola Regional Operations Center.
“The District 1 Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy. Preliminary autopsy findings indicate that Salter received multiple gunshot wounds, one of which appears to be self-inflicted.
“FDLE will continue to investigate the incident to determine the sequence of events. The investigative findings will be provided to the Office of State Attorney, First Judicial Circuit.”
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Smith, click to enlarge.
Trial Delayed For Pastor Charged With Passing Fake Prescriptions
July 15, 2010
Trial has been delayed in the case of the Alabama pastor accused of passing fake prescriptions at a Century pharmacy.
Bertha Y. Wright, 44, appeared before Escambia County Circuit Court Judge Nickolas Geeker on Wednesday. Her jury trial, which was scheduled to begin next Monday, was reset for September 20.
Wright was facing 28 drug-related charges — 11 counts of possessing a controlled substance without a prescription, 12 counts of possessing a new legend drug without a prescription, three counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud, one count of trafficking in hydrocodone and one count of possession of a blank prescription. Prosecutors later dropped eight of the possession of a controlled substance charges.
She remains free from jail on $34,500 bond. She was reportedly a pastor at a Mt. Vernon, Alabama, church.
When Wright attempted to fill three prescriptions at Century Pharmacy on Mayo Street in March, the pharmacist suspected that they were fraudulent. Julie Moran called the doctor that allegedly issued the prescriptions, Dr. David Smith in Jay, and determined they were indeed fraudulent, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office incident report.
The first prescription was written for Phenergan and codeine. The second was for 180 methadone tablets, and the third was for 120 Soma tablets. All three were dated March 3, 2010. Deputy David Bashore contacted Dr. Smith by phone, and he advised that he last saw Wright in February and had written no new prescriptions for Wright.
Inside Wright’s purse, Bashore located an unlabeled prescription bottle containing methadone, a bottle with generic Lorcet and generic Soma mixed together, and a third bottle with methadone.
When deputies Michael Coburn and Tod Day searched Wright’s vehicle across the street from the pharmacy, they discovered a variety of medications — the sheriff’s office incident report lists about a dozen other medications by their identification numbers. The report identified 127 hydrocodone tablets and the muscle relaxer Carisoprodol. An ice-filled cooler in the vehicle also contained three bottles of an unknown substance, according to deputies. The vehicle and the medications were seized as evidence by the sheriff’s department.
Ever Wonder What Happens When Your Power Goes Out?
July 15, 2010
Power outages were reported across the North Escambia area Wednesday night as a line of storms moved through the area. But have you ever thought about what happens when your power goes out? NorthEscambia.com thought we would take a look at the behind the scenes things that take place to get your power back on.
Our scenario below involves Escambia River Electric Cooperative and a hypothetical power outage in Walnut Hill. The events could just as well happen in any community in the North Escambia area on EREC, Gulf Power, Alabama Power, or Southern Pine Electric Cooperative.
Here’s our little story, “When the Lights Go Out”:
You were on your couch watching the TV early last night. The main storm has passed, and the rain outside has just about lulled you into a quick early evening nap.
Then it happens. Your power blinks one, two, three times and it’s off. You make your way in the dark to the kitchen where your glow-in-the-dark EREC magnet on the refrigerator is illuminated enough so that you can read the outage number. You call the number, 1-877-OUT-EREC, and follow the voice prompts to report your home’s outage. Your job is done.
What happens now? First of all, let’s set up the scenario for our hypothetical outage. Let’s say you live on Arthur Brown Road in Walnut Hill. This address receives power from the Oak Grove substation, just across the road from the Oak Grove Park on North Highway 99. You are assuming the evening’s thunderstorm is the culprit for your home being left in the dark. You know the proper action for you to take is to call the EREC outage number which you have done. Now, here’s the sequence of events which will take place to restore your power as quickly and safely as possible.
In our power outage scenario, your call comes in to the dispatch center and your name and address appear immediately on the computer screen. The dispatcher then contacts the on-call EREC crew to make repairs. Since the two-man crew is on-call for the evening, each crewman has driven home an EREC truck loaded with equipment and supplies necessary to repair any typical outage that might occur. So when the dispatch call is received, each crewman leaves his home and heads directly to the site of the outage. He does not need to take extra time to go by the EREC facility and get the vehicle, equipment and supplies needed to repair the outage.
Upon arrival to the outage location, the crew investigates the reason for the power failure. Meanwhile they have received additional calls from the dispatch center letting them know there are other nearby houses on Arthur Brown Road, Corley Road and Juniper Street that are experiencing outages as well. After assessment of the power system, the crew determines that the cause of the outage is an RE failure (an oil reclosure breaker) in the substation due to a lightning strike.
This can be handled quickly by the two-man crew so there is no need for additional personnel to be called in for assistance. The crew repairs the damage and calls the dispatch center to let them know all power has been restored. The dispatch center then calls back each member that has reported a power outage to be sure they do have power.
For more photos from inside the Oak Grove Power substation, click here.
The purpose of this story is to create a picture of what is actually happening during a typical power restoration. This is only a possible scenario and, of course, there are many different reasons why your power can go out.
“Although we cannot imagine all the power outage scenarios that can happen, there is one thing we can be sure of. EREC will be there to restore your power as quickly as possible in the dead of night, in the middle of terrible storms or whatever the case may be – EREC crews will do what needs to be done to get the lights back on,” said Sabrina Owens, EREC’s marketing director.
She said that in the case of major outages such as those that occur with hurricanes or other severe weather, specific procedures are in place to restore power to the most people in the shortest amount of time. The following steps describe power restoration after a storm.
- Transmission towers and lines supply power to one or more transmission substations. These lines seldom fail, but they can be damaged by a hurricane or tornado. Tens of thousands of people could be served by one high-voltage transmission line, so if there is damage here it gets attention first.
- Escambia River EC has several local distribution substations, each serving thousands of members. When a major outage occurs, the local distribution substations are checked first. A problem here could be caused by failure in the transmission system supplying the substation. If the problem can be corrected at the substation level, power may be restored to a large number of people.
- Main distribution supply lines are checked next if the problem cannot be isolated at the substation. These supply lines carry electricity away from the substation to a group of members, such as a town or housing development. When power is restored at this stage, all members served by this supply line could see the lights come on, as long as there is no problem farther down the line.
- The final supply lines, called tap lines, carry power to the utility poles or underground transformers outside houses or other buildings. Line crews fix the remaining outages based on restoring service to the greatest number of members.
- Sometimes, damage will occur on the service line between your house and the transformer on the nearby pole. This can explain why you have no power when your neighbor does. EREC needs to know you have an outage in this type of situation so that a service crew can repair it.
Members themselves (not the cooperative) are responsible for damage to the service installation on the building. The member will need to have a licensed electrician make these repairs.
For more photos from inside the Oak Grove Power substation, click here.
Special thanks to Sabrina Owens at EREC for her assistance with this story from our files , and to the linemen that assisted with the photographs. It’s worth noting that the photographs were taken on a nice sunny morning rather than during a real power outage after a storm due to the dangers of standing in a power substation after a storm has just passed.
Pictured above: EREC prepare to fix an oil reclosure breaker (RE) failure inside the Oak Grove power substation. Pictured below: That breaker is installed on a transmission line headed to the Arthur Brown Road area of Walnut Hill. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Davisville Buglary Suspect Behind Bars On Unrelated Charge
July 15, 2010
The suspect in a Sunday afternoon burglary in Davisville that allegedly had a child in his car at the time of the crime is now behind bars on an unrelated charge.
However, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office has decline to reveal the man’s identity until he is formally charged with Sunday’s burglary. That is expected to occur after a judge signs an arrest warrant against the man.
He is being held without bond on a probation violation charge.
For more information about Sunday’s burglary, click here for a story from earlier this week.
School Districts Question Validity Of FCAT Results
July 15, 2010
Several school districts in Florida are questioning the validity of recently released FCAT results.
The Florida Department of Education has secured yet another outside party to review the scores of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test after school districts complained that an independent auditor was a subcontractor of Pearson, the state contractor who administers and grades the FCAT.
Glitches in a Pearson program resulted in delays of the test results and when they were delivered, five districts still questioned their validity.
Education Commissioner Eric Smith said he was sure the results were accurate, but that a third party vendor, HumPRO would conduct another independent review of the test scores. The schools cried foul though when it was revealed that HumPro was a subcontractor for Pearson.
DOE spokesman Tom Butler said Wednesday that the department was aware of the connection. But that the department required Pearson, in its initial bid to administer the FCAT, to provide a subcontractor who would independently verify the results.
“They report their results directly to Florida DOE to ensure independence from contractor influence,” Butler said in an email. The department also has contracted with the National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment to provide another independent analysis of the results.
Escambia and Santa Rosa counties are not currently among the districts questioning this year’s FCAT results.
by The News Service Florida
Murzins Asks For Public Opinon On Oil Drilling
July 15, 2010
State Rep. David Murzin (R-Pensacola) wants to know how his constituents feel about a proposed constitutional amendment to ban offshore drilling in Florida recently endorsed by Gov. Charlies Crist.
“Do the citizens of Florida feel there is a need to turn this into a constitutional issue?” asked Rep Murzin. “Drilling is already illegal in Florida waters, and this oil spill is impacting us from several states away. I want to make sure I have input from the people of Florida before we proceed.”
Residents can take the survey on www.davemurzin.com. It reads, “Do you support Governor Crist’s proposal to amend the Florida Constitution to add a ban on the exploration for, drilling for, extraction of, and production of oil in Florida territorial seas?”
‘Officer-Involved’ Shooting Leaves North Escambia Man Dead
July 15, 2010
The driver killed in an officer-involved shooting Wednesday morning in Pensacola has been identified as Clifton Salter, brother of Santa Rosa County Commissioner Don Salter.
The Florida Highway Patrol has issued few details about the shooting that happened after traffic stop on Pine Forest Road. According to the FHP, a trooper initiated a traffic stop at 8:27 a.m. Wednesday on Pine Forest Road just north of Longleaf Drive, about a mile from the Pensacola Interstate Fairgrounds.
“During the course of the traffic stop a shooting occurred resulting in the death of the driver. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene,” a release from the FHP stated.
Family members said Salter, a Cottage Hill resident, was a retired BellSouth customer service supervisor and a Vietnam veteran. A Pensacola television station reported that Salter suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
The trooper involved in the shooting, who is assigned to the FHP’s Pensacola’s troop, has been placed on administrative leave under departmental policy.
It was not immediately clear if the driver was shot by the trooper of if it was a self-inflicted wound. Witnesses report hearing multiple shots. The trooper was not injured.
Southbound Pine Forest Road was closed for several hours as the investigation continues by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. All officer-involved shootings are investigated by FDLE.
Pictured above and below: Officials investigate an officer-involved shooting Wednesday morning on Pine Forest Road. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Smith, click to enlarge.
No Injuries In Molino Crash
July 14, 2010
There were no injuries reported in a Wednesday morning traffic crash near Molino.
The accident was reported about 11:20 at Highway 29 and Barrineau Park Road. There was no road blockage, and all patients involved in the crash refused transport to the hospital.
The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. The Molino Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and Escambia County EMS also responded to the crash.