2019 - Page 242 of 242

Don Fletcher

AFD fights building fire – twice

By DON FLETCHER News Staff Writer City firefighters were called twice on December 27 to battle separate blazes that destroyed a Cruit Drive storage barn and threatened several mobile homes in close proximity to the barn. AFD units were dispatched around 1:15 a.m. to the site, just off Jack Springs Road and a few yards from the Escambia County School System Bus Shop, then were recalled shortly after 6 a.m.…

Fire destroys home

By DON FLETCHER News Staff Writer Atmore firefighters were greeted with a somewhat extraordinary situation — exploding rifle ammunition — when they arrived to fight a December 21 fire that broke out around 11:15 a.m. and effectively destroyed a Cloverdale Road home. “When we pulled up, it was going off,” Fire Chief Ron Peebles said of the ammo. “One of the occupants told us there were two fully loaded AK-47s…

Local schools improve

By SHERRY DIGMON News Staff Writer Overall, Escambia County public schools improved academically from 2016-17 to 2017-18, but it was a slight improvement and not enough to get the schools from a C to a B. The Alabama Department of Education released the school systems’ and individual schools’ grades Monday, December 31. Three schools in Escambia County earned a grade of B, but those grades were not enough to pull…

ABC store robbed

By DON FLETCHER News Staff Writer Atmore police and Alabama Law Enforcement Agency personnel continued this week their investigation into the December 21 armed robbery of ABC Beverages Store 41 on North Main Street. “We’re still working on it; it’s still under investigation,” Atmore Police Chief Chuck Brooks, whose department is the lead agency on the case, said late last week. Police reports show that the robbery occurred around 5…