Mark Your Calendars: Molino Memorial Festival Is Coming
May 13, 2010
The Molino Annual Memorial Festival will be held Saturday, May 29 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at CrossFaith Church.
The day’s activities will include food, arts and crafts vendors, auction, live music and plenty of activities for the kids. Guest speakers will include John Krause, Congressional District 1 candidate and Captain Charlie Code from the NJROTC program at Northview High School.
Live entertainment will include Ashton Gibbs, Keith Rowell, Denise Palmer, Wayward Bypass, FACE and Ember.
Food and craft vendors are needed, contact Debra Smith at (850) 587-6060 or CrossFaith Church at (850) 587-3187.
Woman Accused Of Faking Prescriptions For Cop Jailed In Florida
May 13, 2010
The Atmore woman accused of calling fake prescriptions into a Century pharmacy for an Atmore police officer has been extradited to Florida to face charges.
Ashley Megan Nall, 24, of Atmore, was arrested earlier this month in Escambia County, Ala., on Escambia County, Fla., warrants for two felony counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud. She was held in the Escambia County (Ala.) Detention Center in Brewton pending extradition to Florida.
Nall was booked into the Escambia County (Fla.) Jail early Wednesday evening. She was released on $5,000 bond.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, Nall called in prescriptions for Lortab and Keflex to area pharmacies. The prescriptions were then picked up by Ronald Sanford Freeman, 23, of Flomaton. The pair would then split the pills, according to the Sheriff’s Office incident report.
Freeman turned himself in at the Escambia County Jail last Friday on two felony counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud. Prior to his arrest, Freeman resigned his position as a police officer in Atmore for “personal reasons”, according to Atmore Police Chief Jason Dean.
Nall was employed by Dr. Francis Salter of Atmore, and she is Salter’s granddaughter, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Two such prescriptions were called in to the Century Pharmacy and filled on February 5 and March 5. Both were in Ronald Freeman’s name, and both were for 90 Lortab pills, according to the ECSO report. When Century Pharmacy received another call-in prescription on April 19 for 90 Lortabs and 20 Keflex, they became suspicious and called Dr. Salter to verify that she had issued the prescription. When Dr. Salter said that she did not issue the prescriptions and that Freeman was not her patient, the sheriff’s department was contacted.
To read more about the case and Freeman’s arrest, click here for an earlier story.
Northview Names 2010-2011 Volleyball Teams
May 13, 2010
Northview High School has named their Lady Chiefs volleyball teams for next year.
Last year’s Lady Chiefs varsity team advanced to the regional quarterfinals, just the third time in Northview’s history that a volleyball team had advanced beyond the district level. The Lady Chiefs also made the first round of the quarterfinals in 2007 and back in 1997.
Members of the 2010-2011 Northview Lady Chiefs volleyball teams are:
VARSITY
- Trestine Dean
- Ashley Digmon
- Misty Doran
- Josie Doucette
- Ashton Gibbs
- Kara Hardin
- Sarah Killam
- Shawna Montgomery
- Morgan Payne
- Peyton Sandoval
- Raylin Spence
- Katie Wieborg
JUNIOR VARSITY
- Madison Arrington
- Alison Bardin
- Lana Clayton
- Hannah Fiellin
- Rebecca Grim
- Paeton Hadley
- TeAndreia Knight
- Ally Martin
- Rebecca Masaitis
- Shelby Nielson
- Tiffany Pritchett
- Taylor Roberson
- Danielle Steadham
- Lily Townson
- Mallory Wiggins
Thousands Of Feet Of Oil Containment Boom Stolen
May 12, 2010
Thousands of feet of oil containment boom has been stolen from Escambia County waters.
Yesterday, Lance Thayer,, an employee of First in Rescue Safety and Training of Deer Park, Texas, reported 3,400 feet of orange oil containment boom missing from the south end of the Bob Sikes Bridge on Pensacola Beach, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
The boom is valued at about $68,000, according to Thayer.
Thayer, who has been contracted by BP to assist in the oil clean up, said that more boom is missing from the Three Mile Bridge area also. Thayer told the Sheriff’s Office that it is not uncommon for boom to go missing and then the thieves try to resell it or lease it at another location.
The boom is owned by Eagle SWS Environmental Co. Thayer stated the company checked the surrounding waterways to see if the boom had broke loose but was unable to locate it.
Imprisoned Atmore Dentist Office Manager Pays Restitution
May 12, 2010
A former dentist office manager serving four months in federal prison has paid just over $5,000 in restitution.
Toni McMurphy, 55, pleaded guilty to health care fraud and mail fraud in federal court in March. McMurphy was sentenced by Judge Kristi K. DuBose to four months in prison. She is due to be released from the Marianna Federal Correctional Institution on August 11.
Her prison term will be followed by four months of home confinement under the supervision of the Bureau of Prisons during which time she will be subject to electronic monitoring or another location verification system.
Late last week, McMurphy paid $5,267 in restitution, according to federal court documents.
In her plea agreement, McMurphy admitted that while working for Buckley and Buckley Family Dentistry between January 1, 2006, and November, 2008, she bilked about $45,000 from insurance companies by filing false claims for services never performed or by upgrading lower cost procedures to higher cost procedures.
“The insurance carriers would then send reimbursement checks to Buckley Family Dentistry to pay for the fraudulent claims,” McMurphy stated in her plea agreement. “I would then misapply said fraudulent proceeds, thereby allowing me to apply proceeds to different patients and to withdraw cash from Buckley Family Dentistry.”
The mail fraud charge stemmed from an incident in June, 2008, when McMurphy admitted that she filed a false claim with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama asking for reimbursement on behalf of a patient claiming that the dentist had extracted two of her teeth. Blue Cross and Blue Shield then mailed a payment for the services never performed to an Atmore post office box.
McMurphy faced up to 20 years in prison, three years probation and a fine up to $250,000 on each count.
Updated: Boy, 11, Facing Felony Charge After Pulling Gun At Ballpark; Girl, 13, Pulls Knife
May 12, 2010
A fifth grader has been charged with a felony after pulling an unloaded gun at a local ballpark Tuesday night.
The 11-year boy is facing a third degree felony charge of carrying a concealed weapon and a first degree misdemeanor charge of improperly exhibiting a firearm.
The incident happened just before 8:00 p.m. at Bradberry Park in Walnut Hill as ballgames were played nearby.
Two 13-year old girls “were involved in a verbal altercation when (the boy) pulled a handgun out from underneath his shirt and displayed it in a reckless manner, pulling back the slide of the firearm and waving it around,” according to the Sheriff’s Office report. The report notes that the gun was not loaded.
“At some point (a 13-year old girl) pulled a knife out of her back pocket, but did not threaten anyone with it,” the report released Wednesday afternoon states.
The gun, according to the Sheriff’s Office was taken by the 11-year old from his grandfather’s locked filing cabinet. The grandfather told deputies that he was unaware how his grandson had removed the firearm.
The boy was transported to the county’s juvenile justice facility for processing. The 13-year old girl that allegedly pulled the knife was not charged.
The gun, according to the report, was a Armi Gales .35 caliber. The gun and the boy were secured shortly after the incident by an off-duty Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputy that was coaching a game at the park.
“It was an isolated incident. No one was hurt, and no one was in danger,” Pam Brown, the ballpark’s president, said. “Everyone was safe and is always safe here.”
NorthEscambia.com does not identify juvenile suspects unless they are charged as adults.
Pictured above: A fifth grade student that produced a gun Tuesday night at a Walnut Hill ballpark is questioned by Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge. (Editor’s note: The photograph has been altered to conceal the identity of the juvenile.)
School Graduation Dates Set
May 12, 2010
The Escambia County School District has released graduation schedules for the Class of 2010. Graduations will be held as follows:
- Escambia Charter: 7 p.m. May 27, University of West Florida
- Northview High: 4 p.m. June 5, Northview High
- Tate High: 1 p.m. June 3, Pensacola Civic Center
- Escambia High: 7 p.m. June 2, Pensacola Civic Center
- Escambia Westgate: 9 a.m., June 3, Escambia Westgate
- Judy Andrews Center: 6 p.m. May 24, National Naval Aviation Museum
- Pensacola High: 4 p.m. June 2, Pensacola Civic Center
- Pine Forest High: 7 p.m. June 3, Pensacola Civic Center
- Washington High: 1 p.m. June 2, Pensacola Civic Center
- West Florida High: 4 p.m. June 3, Pensacola Civic Center
Northview’s Austin Reid Signs With Northwest Florida State College
May 12, 2010
The Northview Chief’s Austin Reid signed a letter of intent Tuesday with Northwest Florida State College in Niceville.
Reid pitched 78 2/3 innings this season for the Chiefs, giving up just 17 earned runs and walking 30. He recorded 102 strikeouts and a 1.51 ERA. Reid’s senior year record for Northview was eight wins and three losses.
Pictured top: Austin Reid (center) signs a letter of intent Tuesday afternoon. Looking on are (sitting) his parents Glen Reid and Tammy Reid and (standing) Northview Head Coach Sid Wheatley (left) and Northwest Florida State College Assistant Coach Nick Fletcher. Pictured below: The Northview Chief’s seniors: John Sellars, Brad Lowery, Aaron Chancery, Austin Reid, Heath Burkett, Austin Lowery, Heath Burkett and Dakota Stuckey. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Going Out Of Business: All Movie Gallery Stores To Be Closed
May 12, 2010
Movie Gallery will soon be a memory with all stores — including Atmore and Flomaton set to close. The Cantonment store is already nearing shutdown.
Already in bankruptcy, the company filed papers with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Virginia on Monday announcing the once profitable chain will close every store.
“It is in the best interests of the company and other parties to wind down the business,” the company said in the court filing.
Dates for the store closures in Atmore and Flomaton have not been announced. The Cantonment store no longer rents movies; the store’s inventory is being sold off.
When the company went public in 1994, Movie Gallery had 324 stores in nine states, stock was at $14 per share and sales were at $38 million per year. By 2003, Movie Gallery operated 2,200 stores coast to coast and sales were at nearly $700 million. In 2005, stock hit a high of $33.43 per share.
Movie Gallery stock was removed from public trading in 2008 after a share’s value fell to less than a penny. Movie Gallery’s bankruptcy court filings show assets up to $50 million and debts up to $1 billion.
The company has not released more information about its shutdown. The company provides a recorded message to the media saying that it will not take questions.
Industry analysts say the company’s demise was due to the surge in popularity over the online, through the mail service Netflix and the standalone Redbox kiosks.
Close Call? Pictures Appear To Show Blimp Almost Hitting Water Tower
May 12, 2010
Pictures we shot over the weekend appears to show the Wind Creek Casino blimp hitting a radio antenna on top of a water tower in Walnut Hill. The pictures, shot with a zoom lens from nearly a mile away, are optical illusions; the blimp was simply passing behind and above the water tower. The series of photos at the top (L-R) shows the blimp passing the tower. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.