Don Fletcher

County budget approved by split vote
By DON FLETCHERNews Staff Writer The Escambia County Commission, at odds over the proposed elimination of a special projects road crew, passed a $26.5 million budget, but barely, last week.District 5 Commissioner Karean Reynolds and District 1 Commissioner Steven Dickey each voted against the measure, while District 2’s Raymond Wiggins, District 4’s Brandon Smith and District 3’s Scottie Stewart each voted in favor of the funding package for Fiscal Year…
Brewton teacher wins $100K prize for excellence
Blackwell Special to Atmore News Jason Blackwell, a high school industrial maintenance teacher at Escambia Career Readiness Center in Brewton, has been named a grand prize winner of the 2022 Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence, winning $30,000 for himself and $70,000 for his program.Blackwell’s experience in the skilled trades began when his father, a tradesman, told him, “If you listen to me, I’ll teach you everything…
Execution date set for ‘hitman’ convicted of 1988 murder
Smith By DON FLETCHERNews Staff Writer A jury recommended in 1996 that Kenneth Eugene Smith spend the rest of his life in prison. That sentence came a step closer to fulfillment last week, when the Supreme Court of Alabama set an execution date of November 17 for Smith.When the condemned man, a “second-tier hitman,” was convicted of the murder of a Colbert County woman, a jury recommended by a vote…
Bank robber pleads guilty to bribing ECDC officer
Young By DON FLETCHERNews Staff Writer A Selma man, already convicted and sentenced to 17 years in prison for robbing a South Alabama bank two years ago, was ordered to serve an additional 30 months after admitting that he bribed an Escambia County Detention Center officer while being held in the facility.Stanley Young, 34, entered a guilty plea to the federal bank robbery charge in June. While being held in…