Don Fletcher

New county tax goes into effect Saturday
Shoppers across Escambia County will begin paying an extra penny on their purchases when the county’s new sales tax goes into effect on Saturday, July 1. Officials of the cash-strapped county are projecting that the new levy will bring in “around $2.7 million” a year in new revenue. County Commission Chairman Raymond Wiggins said Tuesday that commissioners and administrators are crossing their fingers that the one-cent levy will generate at…
Mobile man busted with bogus bill
A Mobile man was arrested recently after he tried to get a local business to change a $100 bill that turned out to be counterfeit. According to a press release issued last week by Atmore Police Chief Chuck Brooks, Joseph Brad Fallon, 35, was taken into custody June 10 after city police officers responded to the AT&T Store, 813 North Main Street, in response to a report of a subject…
Juvenile shooter sought
Atmore police continued this week their search for a 17-year-old juvenile who is accused of last week’s shooting of a Georgia man who was visiting an Atmore resident. APD Chief Chuck Brooks said this week that a warrant has been issued charging the unnamed juvenile, who is believed to be in hiding, with attempted murder. According to a press release issued by Brooks, police were sent to Patterson Street Apartments…
Judge: Juvenile dependency cases job’s most troubling aspect
Escambia County District Judge Jeff White didn’t let a lapse in electrical service stop his June 15 presentation to a group of more than two dozen local business people on the highs, lows, whys and wherefores of his elected office. But it was obvious that one aspect of the dim environment caused him a degree of anxiety. “Is the coffee ready yet?” White would jokingly ask on occasion during his…
Tropical Storm Cindy approaches – Expected to dump rain, rain and more rain
Although Tropical Storm Cindy was still being called “Potential Tropical Cyclone Three” early Tuesday, the oncoming weather system was expected to dump more rain on an already saturated Gulf Coast as it neared landfall in Louisiana. The system is expected to move north to northwest and hit the Louisiana coast by late Wednesday, but forecasters say the low-pressure center’s impact will likely extend well to the east along the Gulf…