Highway 31 To Close Between Atmore, Perdido
February 5, 2010
Highway 31 will be closed near the line between Baldwin and Escambia counties beginning next week.
The road will be closed at milepost 35.8 west of Atmore to repair damage from heavy rain and flooding back in December. The detour route will be Jacks Springs Road to I-65 to Baldwin County Road 47 (the Perdido exit) back to Highway 31.
The Alabama Department of Transportation is advising motorists that there could be delays due to the detour, and travel times should be adjusted accordingly.
Weather permitted, the project should be completed by March 12.
Atmore Honors Albert; Poarch Creek Indians
February 5, 2010
The Atmore Area Chamber of Commerce named its Citizen of the Year and presented its Lifetime Achievement Award during their annual banquet Thursday night.
Dottie Albert was named the 2010 Citizen of the Year for her years of selfless community service. The chamber also honored the Poarch Creek Indians with their Lifetime Achievement Award for their years of community service.
Flomaton Man Arrested In Florida For Violating Probation On Drug Charges
February 5, 2010
A Flomaton man was arrested Thursday in Escambia County, Florida, and charged with violating his probation on drug charges.
Emanuel Rabun Bethea, 24, of Palafox Street, Flomaton, is accused of violating the terms of his probation on charges of possession of cocaine, two counts of possession of a controlled substance without a prescription and possession of marijuana.
Bethea was first arrested on the charges in April, 2009. He plead guilty as charged in July, 2009, and was sentenced to 24 months probation.
Bethea is being held in the Escambia County Jail without bond.
It All Adds Up: Northview Math Team Wins Big
February 5, 2010
The Northview High School Math Team placed second overall during the Annual JDCC Invitational Math Tournament Thursday at Jefferson Davis Community College in Brewton.
Four of the top 10 winners were from Northview: AJ Lambert, Josie Doucette, Laneicia Gomez and Jamichael Carson.
Northview’s participants were: Emily Vickery, Holly Dickson, Justin Halteman, Josie Doucette, Laneicia Gomez, Jamichael Carson, Ty Randolph, Clint Davis, Dustin Lewis, Colton Sims, AJ Lambert and Seth Leonard.
Pictured top: (L-R) Northview High School’s winning math team Emily Vickery, Holly Dickson, Justin Halteman, Josie Doucette, Laneicia Gomez, Jamichael Carson, Ty Randolph, Clint Davis, Dustin Lewis, Colton Sims, AJ Lambert and Seth Leonard. Pictured below: (L-R) Northview’s top ten individual math tournament winners AJ Lambert, Josie Doucette, Laneicia Gomez and Jamichael Carson. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Man Runs From Deputies (Updated With Photo)
February 4, 2010
Escambia County deputies are searching for a wanted man that ran from this morning in Century.
Kenneth Elbert Hammac, Jr., 27, is wanted for a violation of probation warrant on drug related charges. Deputies found Hammac about 10:30 this morning near a car lot on North Century Boulevard, near the intersection of Pond Street. When Hammac spotted deputies, he ran.
He is described as a white male wearing a black jacket, dark hair, blue eyes, about 175 pounds, 6-foot 5-inches tall. His last known address is on Dawson Road.
Anyone with information on Hammac is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at 436-9620.
Train, Truck Collide In Flomaton (With Photo Gallery)
February 4, 2010
There were no serious injuries when a semi-truck and train collided Thursday morning in Flomaton.
The crash happened about 7:15 on Palafox Street, just north of the Florida line. The driver of an empty flatbed semi-truck crossed into the path of an eastbound train. The force of the impact pushed the 18-wheeler around and down the tracks a short distance. The truck driver was transported to Jay Hospital with minor injuries.
The truck stopped on an adjacent set of tracks almost parallel to tanker cars used for hauling gasoline. There was very little damage to the train’s locomotive, and the train did not derail. None of the train’s cars were damaged.
For a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery from the scene, click here.
Pictured above and below: A train versus truck collision Thursday morning in Flomaton. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Former Sheriff’s Office Employee Charged With Stealing Over $100,000
February 4, 2010
A former Escambia County Sheriff’s Office employee was arrested Thursday, accused of stealing more than $100,000 from the department.
Catherine Lister, was charged with grand theft over $100,000, a first degree felony. She was a 32-year employee of the department who retired last Friday from the finance division.
“Recently implemented accounting practices along with discrepancies noticed by employees led to an investigation being launched on Tuesday,” Sgt. Ted Roy, ECSO spokesperson, said. Lister was reportedly keeping two sets of financial records for the office.
Lister was booked into the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $25,000.
Two Cantonment Men Arrested For Wednesday Night Shooting
February 4, 2010
Two Cantonment men are behind bars accused of a Wednesday night shooting over a debt from a previous drug deal.
Cortez Allen, 20, and Derius Griffin, 21, are facing charges of attempted murder, attempted robbery and using a weapon during the commission of a felony.
The two are accused in shooting of Bobby James Burr, 51, in the 200 block of Desoto Road about 10 p.m. Wednesday. Burr was shot in the chest. He reportedly underwent surgery for his wounds Thursday morning at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola where he was listed in fair condition.
Burr was found leaning on his couch near the front door of the residence when deputies arrived Wednesday night, shot in the left side of his chest. The bullet, according to deputies, exited his back just inches from his spine.
Burr said he started arguing with Griffin over money that Burr owned to Griffin for a “previous drug deal”, according to deputies.
One of the two suspects pulled a weapon, and a struggle ensued. Burr was shot during the struggle. It was not immediately known which suspect pulled the trigger.
Allen and Griffin are in the Escambia County jail, held on $115,000 bond each.
Desperate Hope: Bratt Native Holds Concert, Book Signing
February 4, 2010
Bratt native Candi Pearson-Shelton was among friends, family and fans Wednesday night with a concert and book tour stop in Atmore.
Candi was promoting her first book, Desperate Hope: When Faith in God Overcame My Despair, a book that chronicles the journey through the death of her brother Rick Pearson and the glory of God in the midst of the tragedy.
She and her husband Jonathon had been in California for about four months when she received the news about her younger brother who was living in Atlanta.
“We get a phone call saying Ricky was sick, a serious kind of sick,” she said. Forty days later, he was dead from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
Candy and Rick Pearson’s family found strength in a verse from Isaiah 40 — “A voice cries in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God…. Then every eye will see the glory of the Lord revealed.”
Drawing inspiration from that verse, she penned what would become the title track on the Dove Award winning album Glory Revealed, and she was soon on the album’s tour with artists Mac Powell, Shane & Shane, Brian Littrell and others.
After performing Glory Revealed during her Wednesday night concert at Grace Fellowship in Atmore, Candi sat down and talked about her book.
“I don’t really think of it as a grief book,” the Northview High School graduate said. “It’s a book about hope, a well placed hope.”
Earlier in the afternoon, she held a book signing at the First National Bank & Trust in Atmore.
For more concert photos, click here.
For more on Candi Pearson-Shelton’s book, click here.
Pictured top: Bratt native Candi-Pearson Shelton performs the title track from the Dove award winning album Glory Revealed Wednesday Night at Grace Fellowship in Atmore. Pictured inset: Candi reads from her new book Desperate Hope: When Faith in God Overcame My Despair. Pictured bottom. Candi held a book signing Wednesday afternoon in Atmore. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Story In Wall Street Journal About Atmore Casino
February 4, 2010
Thursday’s Wall Street Journal features a story about the Wind Creek Casino & Hotel in Atmore.
The story details the battle over gambling raging in Alabama courts, and the battle for Southern dollars between Atmore and Biloxi, including the surprise that the operators of casinos in Biloxi had when the 178-foot long Wind Creek blimp recently floated over their establishments on the Mississippi Coast
In the WSJ article, Wind Creek executives would not reveal any details about their bottom line, but said business is better than expected, one year after the $245 million facility opened.
To read the Wall Street Journal article, click here.
Pictured: The Wind Creek Casino & Hotel in Atmore. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.