Category: Headlines

By SHERRY DIGMON News Publisher Only five years ago, the Escambia County High School senior class broke the $1 million mark in scholarships for the first time. Each year, the class has topped the total of the previous year’s class. The Class of 2020 didn’t just break all previous records – they shattered them with more than $15 million scholarship offers, almost double last year’s amount. In a normal year,…

McCaster By DON FLETCHER News Staff Writer An Atmore man was arrested May 4, just over 10 days after he allegedly yanked a pistol from the hands of a local motorist and took off with it. Police Chief Chuck Brooks confirmed that 27-year-old Demetrius McCaster was taken into custody and charged with one count each of third-degree robbery and second-degree theft of property. Brooks said the investigation into the robbery…

America By DON FLETCHER News Staff Writer Atmore Police Chief Chuck Brooks confirmed last week that an Atmore man was arrested here March 5 and has been charged with drug trafficking and felony marijuana possession. Brooks said Timothy Lane America, 41, was taken into custody after he drove his vehicle past a law enforcement officer who recognized America as the subject of an ongoing drug investigation. “He was driving his…

Mayor: City can’t afford school system; supporters still hopeful By DON FLETCHER News Staff Writer Note: This week’s article is the third of a three-part series on the city school system feasibility study, its positives and negatives, and the questions that still remain regarding formation of a municipal school system. Although supporters of a municipal school system remain hopeful, Atmore Mayor Jim Staff said this week that, based on anticipated…

By DON FLETCHER News Staff Writer Atmore City Council members voted unanimously during the panel’s Monday, May 11, teleconference meeting to clarify the terms of a 10-year tax abatement the council granted last year to Alto Products. The original abatement, approved in September 2019, waived taxes on the local manufacturer’s purchase of “at least $2 million worth” of equipment that will reportedly create nearly two dozen new jobs. City Clerk…