Winn Dixie Announces Closures; Local Stores To Remain Open
July 29, 2010
Winn Dixie has announced the closure of 30 “”underperforming” stores, but none none of the store in this area are on that list.
The stores in Cantonment, Atmore and the rest of the Pensacola area will stay open. The list of stores to close by September 22 includes one location in Alabama and 18 in Florida.
To see the Winn Dixie store closure list announced Thursday morning, click here.
Florida’s School Chief Looks At Oil Impact On Local Schools
July 29, 2010
Florida’s school boss was in Escambia County today, evaluating how the Gulf oil spill might impact the upcoming school year.
Florida Commissioner of Education Dr. Eric J. Smith, leading a team of Department of Education (DOE) senior staff members, concluded a series of visits with Florida panhandle school districts Wednesday to learn about the unique challenges they are facing due to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
As a part of the visits, Commissioner Smith and his team were able to hear first-hand from superintendents and other district officials about the impacts the spill is having on their local communities and how they are addressing those impacts in preparation for the upcoming school year.
The team first traveled to Escambia County where they met with Superintendent Malcolm Thomas, as well as Escambia County Foundation for Excellence board members and several school district staff. The visit provided keen insight into the diligent community and district planning efforts that are being undertaken to ensure this school year, and the many beyond it continue the district’s educational goals.
“What immediately struck me during my visit to Escambia was the incredible level of community engagement and the efforts superintendent Thomas has gone through to foster input and participation from stakeholders throughout the county,” said Commissioner Smith. “It’s clear that this is a community that cares deeply about education and I left feeling uplifted with how they have rallied around each other to ensure a quality educational experience for their students.”
Following the Escambia visit, the team traveled to Bay County where they accompanied Superintendent Bill Husfelt on a visit to the joint campus of Rosenwald High School and the newly established CC Washington Academy. There they were able to meet with principals and staff to gauge their expectations for the new school year and discuss how they are planning for the immediate and potential long-term effects of the oil spill in their community.
“What Bay County School District lacks in size they more than make up for in heart, drive and a commitment to learning,” said Commissioner Smith. “Superintendent Husfelt has worked with his staff to develop strong, innovative programs that promote student growth and increased expectations, and these schools are well prepared to provide critical services that further that goal.”
Florida Department of Education Chancellor of Public Schools Dr. Frances Haithcock and other Department leaders concluded the trip with a visit to Gulf County.. While there, the DOE team met with Superintendent Tim Wilder and his staff to discuss the district’s preparations for the fall semester and explore ways the Department could provide assistance. They also traveled to a nearby BP command center to gain additional insight about the disaster and the potential economic impacts to the region in the months and years ahead.
Commissioner Smith concluded his thoughts on the trip by saying, “It’s clear that these districts have many unforeseen challenges ahead of them. But I can say without question that the right leadership is in place to meet those challenges and the Department of Education stands ready to assist them in any way possible to ensure the necessary support systems are in place to minimize the impacts on their children.”
Hospital Honors Dr. Smith For 30 Years Of Service
July 29, 2010
Jay Hospital employees and affiliated physicians recognized C. David Smith, M.D., for 30 years of dedicated service.
“There is no greater example of a caring, loyal, and hard-working physician anywhere,” said Mike Hutchins, administrator of Jay Hospital. “Dr. Smith’s positive impact on our hospital and community over these 30 years is beyond measure.”
Baptist Health Care partnered with Jay Hospital in 1979, to strengthen the then county-owned facility with resources related to technology, personnel and support services. Securing a physician to serve the rural community was critical to the hospital’s survival.
At that time Dr. Smith was in the middle of his residency at the University of South Alabama in Mobile when approached to return to his hometown of Jay, Fla. He agreed to fill the role and began his practice on July 16, 1980. Since then, he has cared for thousands of patients in the North Escambia area.
“We could not ask for a more dedicated physician than C. David Smith,” said Don Salter, Santa Rosa County Commissioner. “His life’s work has been at Jay Hospital for the benefit of his fellow residents.”
VBS: Having A ‘Blast’
July 29, 2010
Cadets and Mission Leaders are having a blast this week at Aldersgate United Methodist Church’s Vacation Bible School. Galactic Blast VBS will continue Thursday and Friday evenings from 5:30 until 8:30. New “Cadets” are welcome to join.
There will also be a “Final Debriefing” for VBS participants and parents Sunday afternoon from 5-6:00 in the church’s “Astro Bistro” fellowship hall. A “Starship Galactic Praise” event will follow from 6-7:00.
Pictured above and below: Scenes from the “Galactic Blast” VBS at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Molino. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Do you have news or photos to share from your church? Email news@northescambia.com
Updated: Drowning Of Boy, Age 6, Ruled Accidental
July 28, 2010
The drowning death of a six-year old boy in Molino Wednesday afternoon has been ruled accidental, according to Sgt. Ted Roy, spokesperson for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities said the child was found unresponsive at the bottom of an above-ground pool behind a home in the 6000 block of Chestnut Road just before 2:00. The child was reportedly brought to work by a woman that worked as a caretaker for a resident of the home.
Escambia Fire Rescue, Escambia EMS, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department and LifeFlight responded to the home.
The identity of the young boy has not been released.
Pictured above and below: The scene of an accidental drowning on Chestnut Road in Molino Wednesday afternoon after the drowning of a 6-year old child. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Frontier Becomes Nation’s Largest Rural Telephone Company After Verizon Purchase
July 28, 2010
Frontier Communications has completed the acquisition of Verizon Communication’s local landline telephone operations in 14 states.
Frontier — which provides local telephone service in Walnut Hill, Molino and Atmore — became the largest pure rural telecommunications carrier in the United States with the purchase. The combined operations will provide voice, high-speed Internet, wireless Internet data access, satellite video, FiOS and other services to more than 4 million residential and business customers in 27 states using the Frontier Communications brand. Frontier currently employees about 14,600 people.
“Frontier continually defines its success in terms of customer and employee satisfaction, and it’s obvious they care deeply about the communities they serve,” said Ivan Seidenburg, chairman of the board and CEO of Verizon Communications.
The Verizon acquisition will have no direct impact on Frontier’s North Escambia area customers. Frontier did not acquire any Verizon Wireless customers.
Forestry Cops Catch Man Red-Handed With Stolen Trailer
July 28, 2010
An Evergreen, Ala, man was caught red-handed with a stolen logging trailer in Escambia County, Ala.
Law enforcement officers with the Alabama Forestry Commission (AFC) arrested Ricky Nolan, 51, on charges of receiving stolen property, first degree, and obscuring identity of a vehicle.
At the time of arrest, investigators observed Nolan picking up a stolen 2004 logging trailer in Brewton, according to the AFC. The trailer, valued at $15,000, was reported as stolen in Phenix City, Ala. in February, 2010.
If convicted, Nolan could face 20 years in prison and fines of $35,000.
The truck Nolan was driving was seized and will be subject to condemnation under a new Alabama law that went into effect July 1, according to AFC Law Enforcement Chief Craig Hill. The law, passed during the last legislative session, allows condemnation of vehicles used during the commission of any felony involving stolen timber-harvesting equipment.
The stolen equipment will be returned to its lawful owner. According to Hill, the AFC has investigated thefts of harvesting equipment valued at $558,964 and has recovered stolen equipment valued at $433,500 since October of 2009.
The AFC provides an “Arson/Forest Crimes Hotline” so that citizens can call and report wildland arson, theft of timber, and theft of harvesting equipment. The toll-free number is (800) 222-2927. Any information provided is confidential and the caller remains anonymous.
House Candidate Facing Drug Charges Will Remain In Race
July 28, 2010
Ricky Perritt, the Florida Florida House District 1 candidate arrest on felony. drug trafficking charges Monday night, said Wednesday afternoon that he will remain in the race.
Perritt made the announcement during a brief press conference at a park in Pace. He told reporters that he did not have the word “quit” in his vocabulary. He said that since the ballots with his name were already printed for the August 24 election, he would remain in the running for the seat.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement alleges Perritt, a former sergeant for the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, fraudulently obtained 1,200 hydrocodone pills through “doctor shopping” — visiting several physicians or the purposes of obtaining hydrocodone. Agents say Perritt did not disclose to any of the physicians that he had already been prescribed hydrocodone by another physician.
Click here to read the FDLE report.
“Ricky Perritt will remain in the race for the Florida House. Mr. Perritt asks that you continue all of your support and prayers for his family and himself during these trying times, and asks that when you vote on August 24th that you look at all the facts in all of the candidates,” Tommy Nichols, Perritt’s campaign manager, wrote in an email to NorthEscambia.com.
Perrit is facing felony charges of withholding information from a practitioner to obtain a controlled substance, obtaining a prescription by fraud, and trafficking in hydrocodone.
Fink said Perritt suffers from chronic pain in both shoulders and is recovering from a recent shoulder surgery. His arrest came after his wife Jennifer Perritt, 38, was arrested last week on the same charges. A statement issued after her arrest by Perritt’s campaign said Jennifer Perritt has suffered from a degenerative spinal condition for the past seven years, and that she became addicted to her prescribed pain medications.
In that statement, Ricky Perritt said he was “consulting with the appropriate professionals to evaluate the situation” with his wife, and he asked for prayers for her.
“While FDLE officials say that the Perritt’s fraudulently obtained approximate 1,200 pills over a nine month period, sources inside the campaign point out that since both of the Perritt’s had recently had surgery the number of pills in question boiled down to about two or three pills each for the time in question. For people dealing with chronic pain, those numbers are well within reason,” Fink said.
Blog: Brown Speaks About Campaign Sign Video; Story Travels Globally
July 28, 2010
A local Florida House District 1 candidate facing accusations around the world that he stole signs belonging to his opponent says he was “set up”.
Republican Greg Brown tells NorthEscambia.com that he was simply doing what he thought he had permission to do when he removed signs belonging to opponent Doug Broxson from the intersection of Highway 89 and Highway 87. It was after dark Saturday when Brown stopped at the intersection after leaving an old-fashioned political stump rally in Jay. Brown said property owner Don Dewrell gave him permission to remove Broxson’s signs.
What happened next became a local news sensation and then literally spread around the world. Click here to read the complete story and see the video.
(story continues below photograph)
Pictured: Candidate Greg Brown allegedly removes campaign signs belonging to his opponent Saturday night.
Using a night-vision camera, Broxson’s brother videotaped Brown and his wife Jennifer removing signs. Brown has not denied that he and his wife removed Broxson’s signs, but he calls the entire situation a “masterminded set up”.
“They knew what they were doing when the had the camera there,” Brown told NorthEscambia.com Tuesday afternoon. “How far did they go to plot this out?”
The story itself has gone far, making headlines around the world.
“Republican rival Greg Brown sprung removing campaign signs” is the headline in Wednesday morning’s Herald Sun, the largest selling daily newspaper in Australia.
“Geez, if you’re going to steal your political opponent’s campaign signs in the age of YouTube, at least wear a mask,” Internet news site newser.com wrote in their story “Hidden Camera Catches Political Foe Stealing Signs”.
On the popular national site The Huffington Post, the story “Sign-Stealing Candidate Greg Brown Caught On Tape” had accumulated nearly 550 comments by midnight Tuesday.
In a statement issued by Brown’s campaign, Dewrell said he granted exclusive permission for Brown to place signs on his property, and “Within that exclusive permission he had the authority to remove any of his opponents’ signs that appeared on my property”.
But Santa Rosa County Property Appraiser records show intersection where the signs were removed is nearly 200 feet from Dewrell’s property line.
Brown said he “was totally under the impression” that the signs removed from the intersection were on Dewrell’s property.
The Huffington Post ended their article with an interesting outtake on the alleged sign theft: “Anyway, it’s a good thing that Brown and his wife didn’t try to pull this crap in Alabama, where they have ways of dealing with sign-stealing thugs”.
And they posted the following YouTube video from Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture candidate Dale Peterson:
(Watch the video to the end to understand why it was included in The Huffington Post article.)
Our NorthEscambia.com blog presents a variety of topics, from opinion based editorials, to news stories that perhaps we would otherwise never cover, to inside information behind the scenes of our stories.
U.S. Marshals Arrest Century Man; Federal Agents Arrest Wanted Sex Offender In Escambia
July 28, 2010
The U.S. Marshals’ long arm of the law reached out to Brewton to arrest a Century man wanted in Florida, to Pensacola to arrest a Birmingham man wanted in Alabama on sex offender charges, and across the Gulf Coast to put wanted fugitives behind bars.
Eric Dean Vickers, 25 of Pine Barren Road, Century, was arrested by U.S. Marshals in Brewton. Vickers (pictured top left) was captured by the Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force on outstanding warrants from Escambia County, Florida.
Vickers was wanted on charges of aggravated assault with a knife, battery, aggravated battery, aggravated stalking and kidnapping in connection with a domestic violence incident. He was released from the Escambia County Jail on $30,000 bond.
Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force also arrested Markies Terrell Cleveland, 23, of Birmingham, Ala. He was arrested after a felony car stop on Hollywood Boulevard in Pensacola. He was wanted in Jefferson County, Ala., on charges of sex offender failure to notify of change of residence. Cleveland (pictured bottom left) was also charged with being convicted felon in possession of a firearm, cocaine possession, marijuana possession with intent to sell, possession of drug equipment and driving while license suspended.
Marshals said when Cleveland and his vehicle were searched, they found a .357 revolver, crack cocaine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia. He remains in the Escambia County Jail on $21,000 bond.
The Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force also arrested:
- Dewight Devaughn, 36 of Escambia County, arrested by USMS in Atlanta, GA, ECSO warrant for Aggravated Battery.
- Ira Alexander Randall, 32 of Walton County, a suspect in a Walton County homicide, arrested on Holmes County warrant, Dealing in Stolen Property/Firearm.
- Walter Edward Petty, 30 of Escambia County arrested on ECSO warrant Sexual Battery.
- Christopher Garrett, 21 of Okaloosa County arrested on WCSO warrants, VOP and Larceny.
- Delbert Nichols, 54 of Okaloosa County arrested on OCSO warrant, Child Neglect.
- Charles Cuchens, 21 of Okaloosa County arrested on OCSO warrant, Bail Jumping on drug charges.
- Charles Coleman, 50 of Okaloosa County arrested on OCSO warrant, VOP/Fraud.