Don Fletcher

Council accepts sewer rehab bid for ‘fish streets’
Atmore City Council members gave unanimous approval during their Monday (July 24) meeting to a bid for renovation and replacement where necessary of the sewer system that runs beneath three city streets. The 5-0 vote, on the meeting’s only agenda item, came after Paul Darnell of Southern Engineering Solutions said the firm recommended awarding the bid to Mississippi-based Suncoast Infrastructure Inc., which submitted the lowest among four bids opened by…
Human trafficking – Grandmother was paid for sex with teen; mother apparently knew (Updated)
A local teen’s grandmother and the grandmother’s boyfriend were each arrested last week after a police investigation revealed that the grandmother accepted money from her boyfriend in exchange for allowing him to have sexual relations with her young granddaughter. The child’s mother was also arrested after the investigation uncovered evidence that she knew about the business deal but failed to report it to authorities or to take any other action…
Mother of teen also charged with sex trafficking
Atmore Police Chief Chuck Brooks confirmed Monday afternoon that the mother of a teen who was allegedly abused sexually by her grandmother’s boyfriend, who paid the grandmother for sex with the child, was also arrested last week. Brooks said Melissa Deann Stoker, 37, address not provided, is charged with one count each of first-degree human trafficking, endangering the welfare of a child and contributing to the dependency of a child. Stoker’s…
Scam artists claim to be from sheriff’s office
Escambia County authorities have no choice but to get involved in the latest scam attempt being perpetrated across the county. The law enforcement involvement can’t be helped because the scam artists are pretending to be from the sheriff’s office. ECSO Chief Deputy Mike Lambert said Wednesday that the latest phone scam entails the caller telling the intended victim that sheriff’s office records show that he or she owes a fine…
Campers participate in bus evacuation drill
When asked how they spent their summer vacation, at least eight local students will be able to say they learned a survival skill they hope they’ll never have to use. The eight, participants in Atmore Area YMCA’s summer camp program, got a hands-on demonstration on the various ways to exit a bus if it turned over or if an emergency situation arose in which exit through the front door was…