NewsDon Fletcher

Attorney: Pastor’s arrest ‘smells of a set up’
Bishop By DON FLETCHERNews Staff Writer Although Alabama Department of Corrections (ALDOC) investigators feel they have a strong case against an Atmore pastor who was arrested Thursday, December 5, on charges of trying to smuggle methamphetamine, marijuana, weapons and other items into Fountain Correctional Facility Annex, the pastor’s attorney said the arrest raises more questions than it answers.“My personal and professional opinion is, the whole thing smells of a setup,”…
Violent weekend
Giles At least six buckshot pellets ripped through the window of a Point Escambia unit. By DON FLETCHERNews Staff Writer Hundreds of Atmore residents and visitors enjoyed pre-Christmas events over the weekend, but three local men will never see another Christmas after one of the city’s most violent weekends in recent memory.Atmore police have a suspect in jail for a late-Friday (December 6) shooting at Point Escambia Apartments that led…
Upcoming Christmas events
Band, choir concertThe Escambia County High School Winter Concert will be held Thursday, December 12, 7 p.m., in the ECHS Hodnette Auditorium. Featured will be the ECHS Choir, Escambia County Middle School Concert Band, and the ECHS Wind Ensemble. Admission is free. Suggested donations are $4 for adults, $2 for students.GECA Christmas playThe Greater Escambia Council for the Arts (GECA) production of “An Enchanted Bookshop Christmas,” concludes this week. Show…
Curfew is imminent, police chief tells council
By DON FLETCHERNews Staff Writer Three Atmore City Council members and Mayor Jim Staff didn’t deal with any major issues among the nine items on Monday’s (December 9’s) meeting agenda. It was what followed the business portion of the meeting that caught the attention of the scattered few who attended and sparked nods of agreement from the four city officials.Police Chief Chuck Brooks, who announced just over five weeks ago…
ALEA reports 21 traffic fatalities during extended holiday period
Special to Atmore News Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) officials reported that state troopers from the agency’s Highway Patrol Division investigated 473 traffic crashes, resulting in 21 fatalities in 17 different counties, over the nine-day Thanksgiving holiday traffic period, which began November 23 and ended December 1.Troopers reported that 19 of those who lost their lives were traveling in vehicles equipped with seat belts, but 10 of the victims were…