Year: 2020

Coin shortage forcing retailers to accept only cards, exact change By DON FLETCHER News Staff Writer Just when U.S. residents were getting adjusted to life in the time of the novel coronavirus COVID-19, another problem — a highly unexpected one — has cropped up. From supermarkets to gas stations to convenience stores, local retailers and those across the country are asking shoppers to pay with a card or produce exact…

By DON FLETCHER News Staff Writer As the qualifying period drew to a close Tuesday, 14 individuals had officially launched campaigns for the six posts up for grabs in the August 25 municipal election in Atmore. The qualifying period ended at 5 p.m. Tuesday afternoon (July 21). Qualifying by any candidate who entered one of the six races after Tuesday’s press deadline will be announced on the Atmore News Facebook…

Sales taxes have remained steady, but lodging taxes cut in half By DON FLETCHER News Staff Writer Despite the closing of all “non-essential” businesses as part of the Stay at Home Order issued in mid-March by Gov. Kay Ivey, the city of Atmore suffered only a minuscule drop in sales tax collections before the order morphed into a Safer at Home decree, and more businesses were allowed to reopen. Lodging…

By SHERRY DIGMON News Publisher Last Friday, July 10, Escambia County Superintendent of Education John Knott, with the approval of the Board of Education, released the Back to School 2020-2021 Plan for Reopening Overview. The document is 11 pages long and it is what it says – an overview. Detailed – and lengthier – documents are provided to school principals for guidance and implementation. The plan was presented to the…

By DON FLETCHER News Staff Writer The COVID-19 pandemic has forced a long list of changes in most aspects of people’s daily lives. Add Grace Fellowship Church’s annual Unity in the Community Festival to the list. The event, which is being billed as “Unity in the Community, COVID Style,” has for the past several years served as a back-to-school celebration for roughly 1,000 children and adults. It will still be…