NewsDon Fletcher

Fleeing 4-wheeler strikes APD officer; driver charged
Owens By DON FLETCHERNews Staff Writer A member of this year’s Escambia County High School football team faces several charges after he struck an officer with a 4-wheeler while trying to avoid arrest last Wednesday, December 18.According to police reports, the officer was driving on Sunset Drive when he met a four-wheeler traveling in the opposite direction. He turned his marked police vehicle around and attempted a traffic stop due…
Digital reading resources launched for K-8, others
By DON FLETCHERNews Staff Writer Escambia County’s public school system has implemented the new digital reading platform recently purchased for students in grades K-8, and for youngsters who haven’t yet started school.Dr. Michele Collier, superintendent of education for county schools, said the new reading aid is designed to both improve the literacy level of students, but to also help younger children develop a love for reading.“Escambia County Schools is excited…
Phone scammers bilk local resident out of “10s of thousands” of dollars
By DON FLETCHERNews Staff Writer Atmore Police Chief Chuck Brooks sees it every year. People, most of them elderly, come to police headquarters or call city detectives because they’ve fallen victim to a phone scam or other scheme.Brooks said he is still mystified that such attempts to separate individuals and families from their money are so effective.“It’s been going on forever and ever,” Brooks said. “You’ve got these robocalls now,…
SpaceX cargo craft’s reentry triggered ‘sonic boom’
By DON FLETCHERNews Staff Writer Officials of both SpaceX and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have confirmed that the sonic boom heard and felt across southwest Alabama and northwest Florida last Tuesday, December 17, was caused by a SpaceX Dragon supply craft returning from space on its way to a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.Such occurrences have been fairly common in different areas during the 31 trips…
No parole for Brewton drug dealer
Thomas By DON FLETCHERNews Staff Writer A Brewton man, convicted here four years ago for dealing drugs, was denied parole during recent hearings by the Alabama Board of Pardons & Parole. It was the second time since December 2022 that he has been turned down.Rasheen Ja’Darius Thomas was convicted in 2020 on three counts of distribution of a controlled substance. He was sentenced to serve 15 years on the first…