Shots Fired At Area Prison
August 6, 2009
Authorities have revealed that shots were fired over the weekend at an Atmore prison.
The incident happened about 3:00 Sunday morning when a guard in a tower at Fountain Correctional Facility in Atmore saw movement along a fence and thought that a prisoner was in the process of escaping. The guard fired a warning shot into the air, according to Brian Corbett, a spokesperson with the Alabama Department of Corrections. When the suspect turned toward the officer, the officer fired another shot at the man dressed in black ninja garb.
Reginald Watkins, 20, of Mobile was not hit by the shots. Before Watkins was taken into custody by officers. authorities said he tried to dump a bag that contained 13 bags of marijuana, 23 cells phones, 21 cell phone chargers, a cell phone battery, 43 assorted pills and 15 cigars. Officers believed Watkins had planned to throw the bag over the prison fence — cell phones are hot contraband for conducting criminal activity from behind bars.
Watkins was booked into the Escambia County (Ala.) Detention Center on multiple charges, including possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana. The charges against Watkins were all dropped by the District Attorney’s Office on Monday, Corbett said, for reasons not known to him.
Property Owners In Molino Subdivision Want County To Vacate Right Of Ways
August 6, 2009
The Escambia County Commission is expected to vote tonight to schedule a public hearing to vacate alleyways and a right-of-way in a Molino subdivision.
Glen and Claire Dunaway own several lots at the subdivision north of Fairgrounds Road and east of Jahaza Street. Several alleyways and right-of-ways divide the lots into different sections in what is legally known as Wilder Subdivision. The Dunaways have asked the commission to vacate their rights to the alleyways and right-of-ways, a total area of 0.84 acres. No one will be denied access to their property as a result of the vacation, according to Joy Blackmon, the county’s Public Works bureau chief.
The public hearing, if approved by the commission, will be scheduled for September 3, at 5:31 p.m.
Click the graphic above to enlarge.
Mistrial In Atmore Murder Trial
August 6, 2009
A mistrial has been declared in the case of an area man accused in the 2008 stabbing death of an Atmore man.
The jury was unable to reach a verdict in the murder trial of Terry Riley. Riley was accused of the April 18, 2008, stabbing death of his roommate, Larry Howard, 51 , of Atmore. The incident occurred on Virginia Drive, just outside the Atmore city limits.
Howard was found dead outside a mobile home on Virginia Drive, stabbed in the heart, after a night of partying with Riley. Authorities never located a murder weapon.
Missing Cantonment Woman Is Located
August 6, 2009
A missing Cantonment woman was found Wednesday, surviving off rainwater in a wooded area.
Family members said Mary Renee McCarthy had been missing since Thursday. She was bipolar and schizophrenic, according to family, and wandered into a wooded area near her home. She was off her medication at the time.
McCarthy was located in that wooded area Wednesday in fair condition.
Flomaton Grad To Release New Album Next Week
August 6, 2009
A Flomaton High School graduate’s new CD will be released next Tuesday.
John Boutwell, who now performs under the name Ryland Bael, will release his country/pop album “Gone Too Long”, featuring 10 new songs that he wrote.
Boutwell graduated from Flomaton High School in 1995 and went on to get degrees from Jefferson Davis Community College and the University of Alabama. He was born in Bay Minette, but grew up around the Boutwell and Lambeth communites on Upper Creek Road just outside Flomaton.
After graduating from the University of Alabama in 2003, he remained in Tuscaloosa and formed his own label — Boutwell Entertainment, LLC. and released “John Boutwell: Remember Me” in 2004. He toured the Southeast for a couple of years to promote the album.
For “Gone Too Long” Boutwell decided to go with the pen name Ryland Bael and write about his life experiences, the result of a three year odyssey of personal heartbreak, healing, and triumph for this south Alabama son.
Ryland’s musical talents have their roots in an old country church in rural Alabama, and his music can best be described as a unique blend of gospel and country intertwined with pop, soul, R & B, jazz, and classical influences.
“I started playing piano and singing almost from the time I could walk and talk. I cut my musical teeth on Southern Gospel music. As I was growing up, being a guy who had no musical education and played everything by ear, whenever I heard something I liked on the radio, I’d take different elements and incorporate it into my own piano style. I began as a gospel writer and gradually began to write more and more country and pop lyrics,” Ryland said. “If you listen close, though, you’ll hear those soulful, gospel licks in almost every song I write and record. I’ll never get away from gospel music. It’s in my blood. “
His days at Flomaton High School helped shape his career. He said he was “discovered” his junior year by the FHS Drama Department when they needed a pianist for a spring musical. Able to play Broadway scores by ear, he would help the cast by transposing the music for those that could not sing in the original key. During rehearsal breaks, he would forgo the Broadway tunes and play songs that were popular on the radio.
“It broke up the monotony of long hours of rehearsal and really was the beginning of my goal to become a recording artist,” Ryland said. ” Suffice it to say, my years in Flomaton laid the foundation for my career aspirations to be a nationally known recording artist. We haven’t quite made it there yet, but we feel good about where things are headed.”
With songs like “Lonesome Highway”, “This Ain’t Goodbye”, “You’ve Had Your Chance”, and “Smile For the Memory”, his new CD shows the soul of man with broken heart that is open to healing. The songs tell the story of human spirit, falling in love and finding one’s self.
“Music is who I am. It’s what I was born to do,” Ryland said.
The CD was scheduled to release last Tuesday, but was delayed by the manufacturing company. When released this Tuesday, the CD will be available from www.rylandbael.com, and online retailers like Itunes, Amazon.com. Rhapsody.com and Napster.com.
Releasing the CD on his own label was a business decision that Ryland hopes will pay off as more and more people discover independent artists online. And he’s hoping that country radio will be good to him with the airtime needed to introduce his music to the country music masses.
“It’s a great project. We just have to work a little harder to get it heard,” he said. “Obviously, from a business perspective, we want to sell as many copies and downloads as possible, but beyond that, I hope this album finds its way to a million listeners that can listen and appreciate this record for what it is. A journey. I think there is something on this album that everybody, no matter what age or demographic, can identify with at some point in their lives. I have this feeling there are a lot of us out there that set out out in life and at some point start to lose ourselves and come to the realization we’ve been ‘gone too long’.”
While the album reflects Ryland’s past, he hopes it leads to a bright future in the music business.
“I’ve made it this far, and I can’t wait to see what the next chapter in my career holds,” he said.
The album can be sampled on www.rylandbael.com, and there are two videos on YouTube.
Some Problems Reported From Wednesday Storms
August 5, 2009
Minor problems were reported from a line of severe storms that moved through the North Escambia area Wednesday afternoon.
- A tree limb fell across a driveway on Arthur Brown Road near Kansas Road in Walnut Hill, bringing down power lines with it (pictured top).
- A tree was reported to be one fire after falling into some power lines at Highway 4A and State Line Road outside Century.
- A tree was reported to be down across Van Hoosen Road near Flomaton.
- A portion of a a pecan tree was reported by a NorthEscambia.com reader to be down in their yard on Highway 97A near Walnut Hill (pictured below).
- A tree was downed along Highway 97 near Wiggins Lake Road.
- The porch on a home was reported damaged on Fannie Road near Century.
- Small pea-size hail and winds in excess of 60 mph were reported near Walnut Hill.
Scattered power outages were also reported across the area.
Pictured above: A tree limb and power lines were downed on Arthur Brown Road in Walnut Hill Wednesday afternoon. Pictured bottom: A portion of pecan tree was downed on Highway 97A near Arthur Brown Road. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Shakedown At Escambia Jail
August 5, 2009
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office conducted a complete shakedown of the Escambia County Jail Wednesda after reports of a possible incident involving the inmates were developed late Tuesday afternoon.
Every inmate and cell was searched thoroughly in an attempt to uncover any weapons that could potentially be used in an incident. These security measures were taken to ensure the safety of both the inmates and the personnel within the Escambia County Jail, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department.
Escambia County Swat Team members were brought in to provide additional security during the shake down. The operation progressing satisfactory and the safety of all involved was a top priority, officials said.
Vehicle Registration, Driver License Fees To Increase
August 5, 2009
It’s going to be more expensive to drive as a Florida resident after September 1. The fees for vehicle registrations, renewals, titles and driver licenses are about to go up and, in some cases, more than double.
The initial registration fee – the fee paid for a vehicle registration on an additional vehicle not replacing a current vehicle — will jump from $100 to $225.
Tag and registration fees will go up as much as 66 percent; the exact amount depends on the weight of the vehicle. Transfer fees for titles will more than double from $29.75 to $75.75. Motorcycle registrations will also increase, from $24.60 to $41.65.
Reinstating a suspended driver license will increase, late payment fees on driver license renewals go up 15-fold, from $1 to $15, and the cost of the original driver license will go from $32.25 to $54.25. Renewing a driver license goes from $25.25 to $54.25.
But there’s a chance to avoid some of the fee increases for some Florida residents.
If a registrant’s birthday falls between July through October, they can renew at the current rates. Beginning Saturday, persons with November birthdays can also renew early because registrations can be renewed up too three months in advance. Persons with December birthdays will not have the opportunity to renew early and save.
“There’s that chance for some people to renew now and save,” Escambia County Tax Collector Janet Holley said. “It is like a two-for-one deal if you can renew now and you do.”
Holley stressed that the increases were mandated by the state legislature for all Florida residents; the increases are not specific to Escambia County.
There is also a chance to save on the driver license renewal fees. A valid Florida driver license can be renewed up to 18 months in advance.
For more information, contact Holley’s office at (850) 438-6500 ext. 252.
Teen To Be Tried As Adult In Billings Murders
August 5, 2009
Rakeem Chavez Florence, 16, will now be tried as an adult in connection with the deaths of Byrd and Melanie Billings.
Florence appeared for the first time in adult court on Tuesday; he had been held in the Juvenile Detention Center since his arrest in Okaloosa County on July 14.
Escambia Circuit Court Judge Parnham ruled that Florence would be charged as an adult. It was the last initial appearance for the seven suspects in the July 9 Beulah murders.
He has since been transferred to the adult population at the Escambia County Jail where he is being held without bond. His next court appearance is an arraignment hearing on August 28 in front of Circuit Judge Paul Rasmussen.
Florence reportedly knew three of the other murder suspects – Donnie Ray Stallworth, 28, Lamont Sumner, 30, and Frederick Lee Thornton Jr., 19 through Sumner’s Fifth Dimension auto detailing business in Fort Walton Beach.
Century To Hold Budget Meeting
August 5, 2009
The Town of Century will hold a budget workshop on Thursday afternoon, and they will also meet with the town’s attorney about their foreclosure on the property formerly occupied by Helicopter Technology, Inc.
The budget workshop will take place at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Century City Hall as the the town council works to finalize a fiscal year 2009-2010 budget.
Matt Dannheisser, the town’s attorney, is also scheduled to attend the meeting to discuss the foreclosure against Helicopter Technologies. That foreclosure became final on July 30 with a $740,999.43 judgment in favor of the Town of Century. The building will be sold at public auction on August 24, with the proceeds up to the judgment amount going to the town. Read more about the foreclosure here.