Don Fletcher

Tainted ‘F’ for ECHS – Superintendent has ‘no confidence’ in grading system
Escambia County High School has for the second straight year been listed by state education officials as a failing school and has been given an “F” in the initial year of using a letter grade to assess the success or failure of individual schools. But the county system’s top administrator said last week he has no confidence in the method used in computing the letter grade, a method he said…
Brown Precision holds first job fair
The much-anticipated opening of Brown Precision’s Atmore manufacturing facility is finally on the horizon. An employee who will oversee plant operations during the start-up indicated last week, during the company’s first job fair (held January 25 and 26), that the plant should begin local operations no later than early March. Original projections were that the plant would open in 2017. “We’re getting there; we’re close,” Evan Paulish, one of four…
Byrne visits RP Pre-K
U.S. Congressman Bradley Byrne got an up-close look last week at one of Alabama’s most successful education initiatives. And he liked what he saw. “I was really impressed with the work going on in their classrooms, but even more impressed by the results,” the congressman posted on his Facebook page after a visit to Rachel Patterson Elementary School. “Pre-K programs make a huge difference in the student’s ultimate achievement level.”…
Convicted cop killer’s execution scheduled
Vernon Madison, 66, has spent almost half his life on Alabama’s Death Row. His life is expected to end there this week. Madison, convicted of shooting Mobile police officer Julius Schulte to death in 1985, is scheduled for execution at 6 p.m. on Thursday, January 25, at William C. Holman Correctional Facility near Atmore. Barring any last-minute reprieves, Madison will become the sixth convict put to death by the state…
2018 Elections – Races taking shape as qualifying continues
The qualifying period for those who wish to seek state or local offices will continue through February 9, but many races — especially for governor and including one for a key county office — have already developed. Escambia County Sheriff Grover Smith, who has been in office since 2003, is not seeking reelection, and two veteran lawmen had already qualified by January 22 to become the county’s top law enforcement…