Just Beautiful: Students Win Pageant Poster Contest
February 11, 2010
Three artistic youngsters at Byrneville Elementary School have been named winners in the Century Sawmill Pageant Poster Contest sponsored by the Century Lions Club.
Winners were first place, Abby Hammond, fourth grade; second place Jayda Warner, fourth grade; and third place Kris Baxter, third grade.
The posters will be used to promote the annual Century Sawmill Beauty Pageant on Saturday, March 27 at 10 a.m. at Carver/Century K-8 School. Registration forms are available at Whataburger in Century.
Pictured: (L-R) Century Lions Club member Edsol Smith, Century Sawmill Pageant Poster Contest winners Jayda Warner, second place; Abby Hammond, first place; and Kris Baxter, third place; and Lions member Don Sales. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Donations Needed For Family That Lost Everything In Fatal Fire
February 10, 2010
The American Red Cross is accepting donations for the family that lost their home in a fire that left one family member dead Wednesday morning in Atmore.
The family needs clothing as follows:
- Boy, age 3, size 4T clothing, size 8 shoes
- Girl, age 5, size 5 clothing, size 5 shoes
- Mother, size large tops, size 9/10 pants and jeans, and size 7 1/2 shoes
Household items are also needed.
Items can be dropped off at the American Red Cross at 205 East Church Street in Atmore on weekday mornings. Donations are also being accepted at Coley Petals and Parties at 301 North Main Street and at the Atmore News at 128 South Main Street.
For more information and photos from the fire, click here.
House Fire Claims Life Of Child, Age 4
February 10, 2010
A four-year old child died as the result of a house fire in Atmore Wednesday morning.
The fire was reported in the 200 block of 6th Avenue about 10:30. When firefighters arrived, the house was fully involved. About 15 minutes later, the four-year old was pulled from the home by rescuers and transported to Atmore Community Hospital. Dylan Barnhill, 4, was later pronounced dead.
The child’s mother, Jessica Barnhill, had been able to get another child, Fredrick, 3, out of the house uninjured, but she was unable get Dylan out of the house. A third child in the family, Teressa, 5, was in school at the time of the fire.
Atmore Fire Chief Gerry McGhee said the cause of the fire is under investigation by the Alabama State Fire Marshal’s office.
The American Red Cross is seeking donations for the family. Click here for more information.
For more photos from the scene, click here.
Pictured above and below: A four year old child died as a result of this house fire Wednesday morning in Atmore. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Tanker Explosion Rocks Flomaton; No Injuries
February 10, 2010
A tanker truck explosion rocked Flomaton Wednesday morning but caused little damage and no injuries.
The explosion happened about 9 a.m. as the truck was parked at Kelley Brothers Contractors on Highway 113, just behind the Tom Thumb.
The tanker truck was loaded with saltwater, according to the Flomaton Fire Department. A 100 pound end cap was blown off the tanker about 250 feet — past the Tom Thumb and across Highway 31 to Rollin’s Tires. Windows at the contracting company were also shattered by shock wave from the blast. No one, including a man reportedly on top of the tanker welding at the time of the explosion, was injured.
Residents from all over the Flomaton area reported hearing the explosion or feeling the earth shake.
The exact cause of the saltwater explosion is under investigation. Officials tell us that the saltwater may have mixed with residue of some other chemicals previously transported in the tank, causing a chemical reaction.
The saltwater is used in the oil drilling process at wells around the area.
Pictured top: This tanker full of saltwater exploded Wednesday morning in Flomaton. Pictured inset: The end cap of the tanker was blown off. Pictured below: The top lid of the tanker was damaged. Pictured below: Windows were blown out a contracting company. Submitted photos by Alisa Hart for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Bill Would Ban Texting, IM, Internet While Driving
February 10, 2010
If you read or write a text message while driving in Florida, it could cost you in the future.
Under a bill introduced Tuesday by two state legislators, texting while driving would mean a $30 fine. State Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, and Janet Long, D-Seminole, have introduced bills to introduce the civil fine. If caught texting behind the wheel, no point would assessed against a driver’s license.
Dockery admitted that she used to read her messages while driving, but no longer. “Distracted driving is an epidemic that’s sweeping through our state and country, destroying lives and families,” she said.
The ban would not just apply to texting, but also sending or reading email, instant messages, pages and using the Internet. The ban would not apply to law enforcement, military and emergency personnel sending messages in the line of duty.
If stopped on the side of the road or parked, texting from a vehicle would be allowed. Talking on a cell phone while driving would not be banned.
County Officers On Board With Molino Community Center Project
February 10, 2010
Three of Escambia County’s constitutional officers are interested in locating offices in a community center planned for the Old Molino School.
That’s the word from District 5 Escambia County Commissioner Kevin White who met Tuesday with Escambia County Tax Collector Janet Holley, Supervisor of Elections David Stafford and a representative of Property Appraiser Chris Jones.
“They were all very receptive of the idea of locating offices in the building,” White said.
For Holley a county center in the renovated Molino School might come at the perfect time — the tax collector’s lease at her current Cantonment offices expires in 2012.
“We are open to exploring the option,” she said. “We will approach it with an open mind. It’s definitely something we would consider, especially since the growth is in that direction.”
In May, 2009, commissioners approved the $400,000 purchase of the building from the Escambia County School District. Commissioners have since approved a budget of $2,089,156 from Local Option Sales Tax monies for the renovation project. DAG Architects is being paid $214,580 to design the renovations.
Plans call for the old Molino school to become a community hub, possibly including a 5,000 square foot library, a museum highlighting Molino history, a small health clinic, a business incubator, renovation of the cafeteria and one additional building for community events and private party rental along with other uses.
The school campus includes 9.66 acres and four buildings — the largest of which is 16,630 square feet.
First opened in 1939, the Molino School closed in 2003 when the new Molino Park Elementary School consolidated Molino Elementary and Barrineau Park Elementary.
Pictured above: The old Molino School now sits empty, closed in 2003. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Judge Orders Mental Evaluation For Suspect That Fled, Threatened To Kill Deputy
February 10, 2010
An Escambia judge has ordered a mental evaluation for a Century man that led police on a vehicle chase and then threatened to kill a deputy after he was caught.
One psychological evaluation of Christopher Angelo Phifer, 38, of Field Road Century, was presented to Escambia County Circuit Court Judge Joel Boles. An additional expert was appointed by Boles for another competency evaluation. due back to the judge by April.
Phifer was charged with with DUI, fleeing/eluding a law enforcement officer, registration/tag expired more than six months, driving while license suspended/revoked, threatening a public servant, two counts of resisting arrest, possession of weapon by a convicted felon and violation of probation. He is free on $17,750 bond.
According to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department report, Deputy James Gilman spotted a Jeep Cherokee occupied by Phifer at McMurray Park in Century at 12:20 am September 6. When Gilman ordered Phifer to exit the vehicle, Phifer took off in the Jeep, according to the report.
Deputy Gilman gave chase, using his lights and siren as he pursued Phifer down Pond Street, onto Jefferson Street and onto Salters Lake Road. On Salters Lake Road, Phifer hit a washed out area in the road, according to the report, causing his vehicle to roll over. Phifer fled into a wooded area on foot, with Gilman giving chase, also on foot. Gilman tackled Phifer, the report says, and arrested Phifer with the help of deputies Jason Land and Scott Rivkin.
About 10 minutes after Phifer was placed in the back of Gilman’s patrol car, he told deputies he had pain in his arm. Atmore Ambulance was called to the scene, and Phifer was transported to Baptist Hospital where he was treated and released.
A search of Phifer’s Jeep turned up a .22 long rifle cartridge on the driver’s side floorboard.
At the hospital, Phifer told the deputy “Gilman I’m going to kill your a** and you know I have guns,” according to the ECSO report on the incident, and that he intended to kill or put a hit out on Gilman.
Blog: What Went Wrong? Mosquito Trap? Drugs? Alien Probe?
February 10, 2010
What in this world, or out of this world, went wrong for it to take hours to identify a mosquito trap as a “mystery object”? Why were deputies and firemen unable to identify an object that was suppose to be clearly labeled as property of Escambia County Mosquito Control?
Perhaps surprising to some, the answer is a story about things that went the right way.
The buzz all over Escambia County Tuesday was our story about the mystery object glowing in the woods of Bluff Springs. Everywhere you went in the county, people were guessing what the object might be. It was truly the talk of the town. Our phone here at NorthEscambia.com rang a lot Tuesday, with people trying to get the inside information. We did live television interviews, and another local web site proclaimed “Alien probe found in Century”. (Alien probe? That was a stretch. It’s Bluff Springs, not Gulf Breeze.)
It all started about 10:15 Monday night when a resident on Dawson Lane off Bluff Springs Road called and reported that he thought he saw a small fire in the woods near his home. Members of the Century Station of Escambia Fire Rescue responded; they did not find a fire. Instead they located a glowing light in the woods. The wind blowing branches had made the light appear to flicker like a flame to the resident.
Let’s draw a mental picture of the scene. The area of Dawson Road where the object was found is pitch black dark — nothing but woods, no streetlights. The woods were thick and very dark. The object was several feet into the woods.
Following their training, firemen attempted to determine what they were dealing with before they entered the woods. With their flashlights, they could see the light, a battery pack and what appeared to be a cooler. Some reported to see the cooler smoking. What did their training tell them? Stay out of the woods.
From what they could see from the edge of the woods, the object could have been most anything. Likely suspects were some sort of portable meth lab, a crude explosive device, or…there were lots of possibilities. Mosquito trap was not on the immediate list.
Since the item may have been a meth lab (bad guys can make meth inside a moving vehicle this day, so anything’s possible for a meth head), it might have been a crime scene. Firemen are trained not to walk around crime scenes so that they don’t destroy evidence.
“We followed our protocol for safety and to protect and preserve any possible crime scene,” said David Adams, a volunteer for the Century Station of Escambia Fire Rescue. He’s also the Emergency Management Director for Escambia County, Alabama. “We didn’t know what it was. You look at what you think you might have and take the worst that it can be and work to eliminate the hazards.”
Adams called for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office to respond. Two deputies did. In their report, they wrote that they observed a “glowing object” and a cooler that was wrapped with black duct tape. Ice was forming on the duct tape. Thinking a possible meth relationship, the deputies followed their training and called for the department’s narcotics unit to respond.
In retrospect, perhaps it seems like a lot for a funny little mosquito trap that was suppose to be clearly labeled with Escambia County stickers.
“The equipment and cooler have Escambia County labels for easy identification,” said Sonya Daniel, Escambia County’s public information officer.
It was at about this period in our story where the picture you see on this page was taken. Understand what you see in the photo is not what you could have seen with your naked eye on Dawson Road with a good flashlight. The flash on our camera can light up and entire football field; so the camera was able to provide a view that could not be seen in person. There are no Escambia County labels visible in the photo.
About 15 minutes after we took the photo and left the scene, the narcotics officer did arrive on the scene. They are trained to approach a possible meth lab, which can explode at any moment. Their report indicates that they did find the Escambia County Mosquito Control stickers on the mosquito trap. Problem solved.
Why then did we report about the mystery object for hours before posting that it was a mosquito trap? Simple. That was the latest information available. Before the spokespersons in the Sheriff’s Office can release a report, it must first be filed by an officer and approved by a supervisor. That sometimes takes hours, as it did Tuesday.
There were, by the way, a surprising number of people working to find answers for us on Tuesday. But answers take time.
If NorthEscambia.com were a printed weekly paper, none of this story would have been the talk of the county. It would have been, if reported at all, a small paragraph on page 12 or something. But in the world of 24/7 news as it happens on NorthEscambia.com, it sometimes takes time for a story to unfold. It’s that drama that makes what we do so appealing to tens of thousands of people everyday.
It may or not catch mosquitoes in February, but the little light sure did catch our attention.
Click here for our original Tuesday story.
Royals Win Round One In 1-2A Tourney
February 10, 2010
Jay 58, Ponce de Leon 40
The Jay Royals won the first round of the District 1-2A Tournament in Freeport Tuesday, 58-40. Bugg Fischer paced the Royals (11-12) with 19 and had seven rebounds.
Jay–Hunter Boutwell 12, Dakota Walker 1, Luke Rowell 6, Bugg Fischer 19,Stephen Brabham 5, Tyler Prescott 3, Todd Laney 12.
Jay 18 17 18 5-58 Ponce De Leon 9 16 7 8-40
Ernest Ward Parents: Complete Online Survey
February 10, 2010
Parents of students at Ernest Ward Middle School are being asked to complete a parent survey online.
In order to complete the survey, visit the school web site at ernestward.com and find the survey under the “Parent Information” link, or click here to access the survey directly.
Results from the survey will be posted at a later date on the Ernest Ward Middle School’s “Parent Information” page.