Local Sprint Cellular Customers Experience Problems
November 29, 2008
An Alabama fiber optic cable cut had Sprint cellular phone customers in North Escambia and South Alabama unable to make calls Friday evening.
The fiber line belonging to CenturyTel was cut about 2:00 Friday afternoon; that fiber line is used to connect Sprint cellular towers together and carry calls to the telephone network. That created a “hit or miss” calling problem for Sprint cell phone customers from Mobile to Montgomery, including portions of North Escambia, sometimes unable to make calls.
A Sprint spokesperson said that making a call or using other features such as the Internet or text messaging was difficult at times. With enough tries, a customers should have been able to get a call to go through.
Flomaton’s Tony Ellis Is Finalist For Alabama’s Mr. Football
November 29, 2008
Tony Ellis from the Flomaton Hurricanes is one of the finalists for the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s 2008 Mr. Football title.
The Canes senior running back is one of 42 finalists for the award. The finalists were picked from 146 players that were nominated by ASWA members or or coaches.
Ellis is one of three back of the year finalists in Alabama 2A football. His high school career included at least 1,500 rushing yards per year for each of the last three years at Flomaton. Ellis, who is 5-fo-9, had over 5,000 rushing yards in his high school career with the Canes.
The Mr. Football award winner will be named in December.
Photos courtesy Mike Newton Photography.
Book Sale To Purchase Underwear For Needy Children
November 29, 2008
If you are book shopping in Pensacola this weekend, you can make your purchase at one bookstore and help purchase underwear for homeless children at the same time.
The Escambia County Coalition on the Homeless will receive a percentage of sales at Barnes and Nobles on Airport Boulevard. The funds are used to purchase new underwear for homeless children in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. When you make your purchase, you should tell the cashier that you want your purchase to benefit the homeless children fund raiser.
Last year, the ECOH spent $5,000 to meet children’s needs in the two counties. The ECOH says that hey have more children than ever with needs this year due to the number of families that are having problems with housing and other bills. A full 100 percent of all funds go benefit homeless children, including some here in North Escambia.
Direct donations to the project can be made to: Homeless Children’s Underwear Fund, E.C.O.H., P. O Box 17222, Pensacola, FL 32522.
Keep The Wreath Green Campaign Kicks Off Next Week In Escambia
November 28, 2008
Escambia County Fire-Rescue and the City of Pensacola Fire Department are participating in “Keep the Wreath Green,” a holiday safety program designed to promote fire safety during the month of December. With this program, officials hope to reduce the number of fires during a time of serious fire danger with simple, life saving tips.
This year, the fifth year of the campaign, five-foot wreaths will be on display at 22 different locations throughout the holiday season. These sites are the Old Escambia County Courthouse on Palafox Place, the Public Safety Building on W Street, all 18 primary county fire stations, and two fire stations within the City of Pensacola. Every time firefighters respond to a residential fire a green light bulb will be replaced with a red one to remind citizens of the dangers posed by holiday decorations.
In North Escambia, wreaths will be displayed at the Century and Molino fire stations.
To help citizens stay safe and “keep the wreath green,” officials are providing a holiday safety tip for each day of the month; visit www.keepthewreathgreen.com for a complete list.
A kick-off event for the campaign will be held on Monday, December 1 at 6 p.m. with the lighting of the wreath at the Escambia County Governmental Complex, 221 Palafox Place.
Escambia County Fire-Rescue and the City of Pensacola encourage everyone to follow the safety tips and have a happy holiday season. If you have additional questions regarding fire safety or the “Keep the Wreath Green” program, please contact Lt. Daniel Akerman at (850) 475-5530.
Pictured above: The wreath at the Century fire station last December. NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Buy Video Games As Gifts? Attorney General Says Be Careful
November 28, 2008
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum today urged parents and other consumers to check the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) ratings before purchasing computer or video games as gifts.
According to industry statistics, more than 50 percent of computer and video games are sold during the holiday shopping season, making it critical that shoppers ensure the games they give to young people are age and content appropriate.
“Though the holiday season is one of the busiest times of year, it is also perhaps the most important time of the year for consumers to make sure they know what they’re buying for their loved ones,” said Attorney General McCollum. “The ESRB rating system provides parents and others with age and content information which can be informative tools when purchasing games for family and friends.”
ESRB ratings are designed to provide information about computer and video game content so consumers can make informed purchase decisions. As part of the rating system, rating symbols suggest age appropriateness for the game, and content descriptors indicate elements in a game that may have triggered a particular rating and may be of
concern.
“More than 40 percent of Americans expect to purchase a computer or video game this year and a majority of those games are purchased during the holiday shopping season,” said Michael D. Gallagher, CEO of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the trade association representing U.S. computer and video game publishers. “As parents choose titles from the broad range of entertainment choices our industry offers, we urge them to use the ESRB ratings system to ensure the games they purchase for their children are appropriate.”
“As a parent, I know it can sometimes feel overwhelming trying to manage the media that our children consume, but video games are actually among the easiest to control,” said Patricia Vance, president of the ESRB. “The ESRB ratings are easy to understand, and provide valuable guidance about the age appropriateness and content of video games so parents can determine which games are appropriate for their children. I strongly encourage parents to remember to check the ratings each time they buy or rent a game for their child.”
The ESRB recently supplemented its rating system by launching new ratings summaries. The summaries, released for all games rated since July 1, 2008, provide brief, objective descriptions of the content and surrounding context that factored into a video game’s rating assignment. Parents and other interested individuals may access these summaries on
the ESRB website, http://www.esrb.org, via a new mobile address, m.esrb.org, or through ESRB’s rating search widget.
Thanksgiving Night Accident Critically Injures Walnut Hill Man
November 27, 2008
A 21-year old Walnut Hill man was critically injured in a single vehicle accident Thanksgiving night.
The Florida Highway Patrol says Jarod Evan Jones, 21, was ejected from his GMC Sierra pickup on Highway 97A near Walnut Hill about 9:00 Thursday night.
The pickup left Highway 97A, hit a culvert at Corley Road and rolled multiple times over a distance of almost a tenth of a mile in the ditch alongside Highway 97A. Speed was an apparent factor in the accident.
Jones was transported by LifeFlight to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola in critical condition.
The accident is still under investigation by the FHP. The Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department, Atmore Fire Department and Atmore Ambulance responded to the call.
Pictured above and below: Scenes from an accident on Highway 97A in Walnut Hill Thanksgiving night. Scroll down for multiple photos. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos, click to enlarge.
One Person Injured In Early Morning Walnut Hill Accident
November 27, 2008
One person was injured in an single vehicle accident early Thanksgiving morning in Walnut Hill.
The accident occurred just after 12:00 a.m. Thursday on Highway 97 near the Walnut Hill Community Center. The driver of a Z28 Camaro lost control while traveling southbound on Highway 97. The vehicle left the roadway, hit several trees and a culvert before flipping around and landing nearly over on the driver’s side. The first people on the scene said the driver was trapped, but then crawled partial out of the vehicle.
The first firemen on the scene had to use a chainsaw to cut some of the brush away from the car to reach the driver. The unidentified man stated that he was from Pensacola.
The person that found the accident stated that the driver of the Camaro had passed him a bit further north on Highway 97 at “about 100 mph”.
The driver of the vehicle was transported by LifeFlight to a Pensacola hospital. His injures, which included a broken leg or hip, were not believed to be immediately life threatening.
The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.
Escambia Fire-Rescue units from Walnut Hill, Molino and Century responded to the call, along with Atmore Ambulance.
Pictured above: The driver of this Camaro lost control at a high rate of speed early Thursday morning in Walnut Hill. Pictured below: Emergency personnel work to reach the driver of the car. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Told That There Was No Hope, She’s Thankful To Be Alive Today
November 27, 2008
Rebecca Jones, 2, ran into the Century Branch Library Wednesday afternoon and hugged her Nana. It was a simple thing, but it’s those simple moments with her grandchildren that Nadine McCaw is so thankful for this Thanksgiving.
Rebecca is almost three. When she was born, it was grandchild number eight for Nadine and Eddie, her husband of 37 years. It was a happy time with a new life in the world. But within a matter of days, Nadine was told that her life was about to be over.
While visiting with Rebecca, Nadine got sick. Five doctors and two weeks later, she had been told five times that she was not likely to survive the invasive cervical cancer that doctors found. She even saw one of the top cancer doctors in the South at the University of Alabama Birmingham.
“All of them gave me really no hope,” she said. “The head doctor at UAB told me the same thing. He said that if I survived the surgery, I might have six months to live.”
Nadine knew the possibility of dying from cancer was very real. When Nadine was three, her mother died from cancer at age 21. Her brother-in-law died from colon cancer. The list of relatives in her family that died from cancer is a long one.
Her family, her friends, her church…they all prayed. And prayed.
Prayer worked.
“They got all of the cancer. It was all there together, and it had not spread,” Nadine said. “They were surprised. It was not in any lymph node; it was not anywhere.”
She went from doctors telling her she had six months to live, to being one of the most important words in the world of cancer — survivor.
“The Lord is the only one that got me through all of this,” she said. “When five doctors tell you that you don’t have a chance, it was only the prayers of people and the Lord.”
“I don’t know what I do without her,” daughter Felicia Jones (Rebecca’s mother) said. “She’s special to me.”
“I love you Nana,” Rebecca said. “I’m so happy to see you.”
Nadine smiled. “I’m so thankful to be here, she said.
Rebecca, along with brothers Jordan, 5, and Joshua, 8, are in town this weekend from Arab, Alabama, to spend time with the McCaws. Nadine’s other daughter, Juanita Watson, lives in the Washington, D.C. area with Nadine’s other five grandchildren — Eli, 3; Luke, 4; Casey, 6; Mari, 13; and Joseph, 14.
Nadine works at the Century Branch Library and is a Century Town Council member. She also does her part to help others with cancer. She’s an active part of the Century Relay for Life, working to raise funds for the Century Branch Library’s team and signing up survivors for the Survivor’s Lap, dinner and other recognition during the Century Relay. For more information on the Century Relay, or to register as a survivor, visit CenturyRelay.com.
Pictured above top: Cancer survivor Nadine McCaw gives hugs and kisses to her youngest granddaughter, Rebecca Jones, 2. Pictured above middle: Nadine helps three of her grandchildren with the computers at the Century Branch Library where she works. Pictured below (front, L-R): Rebecca, Joshua and Jordan Jones; and (back L-R): Nadine McCaw and her daughter Felicia Jones. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Thanksgiving Meals Provided For Three Area Families By Rotary Club
November 27, 2008
The Tri-City Rotary Club delivered Thanksgiving meals to three needy families in the area on Wednesday.
A deserving family was chosen in Century, Jay and Flomaton to receive the meals, which included a smoked turkey from Archie’s Catering Smokehouse in Molino and the Northview High School FFA. The club also provided each family with a variety of staple foods to help them with their grocery budgets.
“We picked three deserving families,” Bo Brantley, club president, said. “A member of each family is employed, but they have just fallen on hard times and needed a little help.”
The Century family included a mother and three children. Their house was destroyed by fire Monday night. The Jay family was a mother and four children, and the Flomaton family included a grandmother that is raising her two grandchildren.
Pictured above: Tri-City Rotary Club members (L-R) Don Ripley, Bo Brantley, Bill Cox, Terri Sanders and Dietrich Bondurant prepare food boxes Wednesday afternoon for needy families in Century, Flomaton and Jay. NorthEscambia.com photo.
FHP Out In Force For Holiday Weekend
November 27, 2008
The Thanksgiving holiday is a peak travel period for families joining together, but far too often the holiday celebration turns to tragedy because of failure to drive carefully and wear
seatbelts. Since Thanksgiving always produces a high volume of traffic, the Florida Highway Patrol will increase its presence on Florida roadways during the upcoming five-day holiday period. All sworn personnel on the patrol normally assigned to administrative duties will be reassigned to patrol duties on high volume roadways. In addition, Auxiliary and Reserve troopers will volunteer to assist regular troopers during the heightened holiday enforcement period.
“The Thanksgiving holidays are typically times of heavy traffic as people travel to spend time with their families, so we urge everyone driving on our highways during the holiday period to drive carefully,” said Colonel John Czernis, director of the Florida Highway Patrol. “Allow yourself plenty of time to reach your destination safely, drive sober and buckle up on each and every trip. The holidays are a time for celebration, but we cannot forget safety behind the wheel.”
The Florida Highway Patrol reminds motorists of Florida’s Move Over Law. The law requires motorists to move over when a patrol car, emergency vehicle or tow truck/wrecker is stopped on the side of the road with lights flashing. Motorists are required to change lanes away from authorized emergency vehicles if able to move over safely or slow down while maintaining a safe speed. Violators of the Move Over law will be issued a citation.
Motorists are encouraged to use their cellular telephones safely. FHP urges all drivers to call *FHP (*347) to report drunk or aggressive drivers. They can also use this number if their vehicle breaks down or they need assistance. Motorists needing immediate emergency services should dial 911.
The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles encourages anyone with a valid Florida driver license or identification card to go online to www.flhsmv.gov and enter their emergency contact information. This vital information gives law enforcement immediate access to this information in cases of an emergency, which makes it easier for them to contact a family member or friend.