Articles written by Gretchen Mcpherson


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  • Jay mourns loss of JHS grad

    Gretchen McPherson, Ledger Staff|Nov 14, 2024

    The town of Jay mourns the loss of 25-year-old Eric Godfrey, who was electrocuted Monday, Nov. 11, while working in Yalobusha County, Miss. Godfrey was on a construction site in Oakland, Miss. and was laying a pipe underground when a machine made contact with an overhead power line, according to the Yalobusha County coroner. A 2018 graduate of Jay High School, Godrey started playing football there in eighth grade as a starter and soon moved up to varsity. He received the Challenger Award in...

  • Wallace elected as school board head

    Gretchen McPherson, Ledger Staff|Nov 14, 2024

    In a vote of 4 to 3, the Escambia County (Ala.) Board of Education selected Board Member Coleman Wallace as board president and Kevin Hoomes unanimously as its vice president at its special annual meeting Monday, Nov. 4. Wallace was nominated by Danny Benjamin. Sherry Digmon nominated incumbent Loumeek White. Benjamin, Hoomes, Mike Edwards and Wallace voted for Wallace. Cindy Jackson, Digmon and White voted for White. Digmon nominated Hoomes for vice president. This annual special meeting is...

  • Century votes yes on two of three issues

    Gretchen McPherson, Ledger Editor|Nov 7, 2024

    'Two of three ain't bad' is how Century Mayor Louis Gomez, Jr., describes the results of Tuesday's election in Century with two of the three amendments to the town's charter passing and one failing. Voters rejected amendment No. 2 321 to 196 that would have given the mayor more power to hire and fire employees. Amendment No. 1, which gives the mayor the ability to spend more than $199 without council approval and eliminates the need for at least three bids over that amount, passed on a 299 to 21...

  • Gomez: charter vote is needed

    Gretchen McPherson, Ledger Staff|Oct 24, 2024

    Century registered voters will see three amendments on their ballot Nov. 5 in the General Election that will affect the town's 45-year-old charter. If passed, these three amendments would give the mayor more spending power, the ability to hire and fire and a general clean-up of the charter's language to make it simpler and less complicated. Century Mayor Luis Gomez, Jr. says the passage of these three amendments will improve the town greatly. He is working hard to help his constituents...

  • Festivals kick off Friday

    Gretchen McPherson, Ledger Staff|Oct 24, 2024

    With the fall season and Hallowen just around the corner, area activities start Friday, Oct. 25 with trick or treats in Atmore and Century and continue through Nov. 8 with Byrneville’s Fall Festival. There is plenty for families to enjoy that will get everyone in the mood for fall. Atmore The Atmore Area Chamber of Commerce will host 'Trick-or-Treat On the Street' from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 25, in Atmore. Williams Station Day will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 26, in Atmor...

  • Blackcats not to be denied

    Gretchen McPherson, Ledger Staff|Oct 24, 2024

    Due to rain on Oct. 4, Northview cancelled their homecoming parade with the Century Little League Blackcats ready to go. The Blackcats were not denied their participation with the community rallying together to hold a parade of their own this past Friday afternoon through the neighborhoods of Century with floats and of course plenty of candy for the bystanders. Blackcat pride still matters. See more on Page 3....

  • Jay wants more info on roof fix

    Gretchen McPherson, Ledger Staff|Oct 10, 2024

    Although they did not finalize approval on who will re-roof the Jay Community Center, the Jay Town Council Monday night discussed the two bids that were submitted and approved Project Manager Eric Seib to take questions to the less expensive company and bring the answers back to the council at the next meeting. The two bids submitted were from DAC Roofing and Rowell Roofing. Each bid gave options for a shingled roof, a metal roof and gutters, soffit and facia options. DAC’s and Rowell’s sof...

  • 'Odd Couple' set to open Thursday

    Gretchen McPherson, Ledger Editor|Oct 10, 2024

    The Greater Escambia Center for the Arts at 100 S. Trammell St. in Atmorewill perform Neil Simon's 'The Odd Couple:Female Version' at 7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 10 and 17, Friday, Oct. 11 and 18 and Saturday, Oct. 12 and 19 and at 2 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 13 and 20. Tickets are $12 at gecarts.org or at the door. Above, cast members rehearse....

  • New business opens in Jay

    Gretchen McPherson, Ledger Staff|Sep 26, 2024

    Commercial Contract Cleaning (CCC), located at 13333 Highway 89, in Jay held its ribbon cutting Friday, Sept. 6. Offering commercial clean-up from post construction to office cleaning and everything in-between, the hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mon. through Fri. For more information, call 850-860-7783....

  • Moore is named as Century's new clerk

    Gretchen McPherson, Ledger Staff|Sep 19, 2024

    In a unanimous vote at its meeting Tuesday night, the Century Town Council approved Mayor Luis Gomez's recommendation to hire candidate Carrie Moore to serve as town clerk. The position was left vacant when Leslie Howington resigned in April. The town approved hiring Lakisha Burch as interim town clerk in late May. Town employee Mallory Walker has been acting town clerk for the past couple of months. Moore, who has served as Flomaton's town clerk for the last three years, will be available to...

  • Century OKs $10 M budget

    Gretchen McPherson, Ledger Staff|Sep 5, 2024

    In a public hearing at its Tuesday night meeting, the Century Town Council unanimously approved a resolution setting the FY 2024-2025 millage rate at .9204 mils, the same as last year, which is greater than the rolled-back rate of 0.9781 mils by 5.900 percent, according to administrative assistant Mallory Walker. At the same millage rate as last year, the town will receive $4,974 more than last year in ad valorem taxes. The gross taxable value of the town, certified by the county property...

  • Jay sets events for 2025 with food, fun

    Gretchen McPherson, Ledger Staff|Sep 5, 2024

    Discussed at its monthly meeting Tuesday, the Jay Area Chamber of Commerce is planning a ‘Farm-To-Table’ fundraising event on Saturday, April 5, 2025, on Commerce Street that will become an annual event and help the chamber raise money, bringing together area residents, business owners, local farmers and others in Santa Rosa county for one night to celebrate what the town has to offer to those who live and work in the area. In case of rain, the event will be held at Holland Farms. The event wil...

  • Century loses about $13 million in grant funds

    Gretchen McPherson, Ledger Staff|Aug 29, 2024

    In an effort to be transparent, Century Mayor Luis Gomez explained at its council meeting last Wednesday to a full audience that the town will not be able to rebuild the Carver Community Center or repair or rebuild any of the three bridges in Century because the almost $13 million in grants that were given to the town to complete those projects have been taken away. An amendment was presented and approved at the meeting that will convert the grant to a planning grant, extend it to Sept. 30, 2025...

  • Film to feature Jay's 'racial past history'

    Gretchen McPherson, Ledger Staff|Aug 22, 2024

    A documentary 13 years in the making, ‘Welcome to Jay’, by filmmaker Jeffrey Morgan, is set to be shown at the Tallahassee Film Festival on Saturday, Aug. 31, and follows the apparent racist past of the town of Jay, Fla., beginning with the story of two allegedly racially-motivated murders about 90 years apart. The three-minute trailer can be found online under ‘Welcome to Jay’. The trailer referred to Jay as a ‘sundown town’, where all black people had to be out of town by dark, the film fo...

  • Century restores water after line break

    Gretchen McPherson, Ledger Staff|Aug 22, 2024

    Early Sunday morning, the town of Century had a water main rupture on Highway 29 in front of Ace Bondurants Lumber and Hardware that left its residents with low pressure or no water at all, a boil water notice that was put in effect, and one employee badly injured. Century Mayor Luis Gomez said the call came to Century Supervisor Kevin Merchant about 4 a.m. Sunday. Gomez said he got the alert call from the Omni Beacon company soon after. When they got to the scene, the water was gushing out, Gom...

  • Gomez says funds not lost for Carver Community Center

    Gretchen McPherson, Ledger Staff|Aug 8, 2024

    Addressing rumors that the town of Century lost its funding to renovation the 70-year-old Carver Community Center, Century Mayor Luis Gomez, Jr. said Tuesday the town hasn’t lost its grant and explained that the state has only approved a portion of the funding. In 2022, Gov. Ron DeSantis granted Century $3.255 million to renovate two community centers, with almost $2 million set to rebuilding the Carver Community Center. The building has to be demolished and rebuilt due to hazardous materials p...

  • Jay keeps working on renovation plans

    Gretchen McPherson, Ledger Staff|Aug 8, 2024

    Although they took no action, the Jay Council Monday night heard updates from Town Manager Eric Seib on the Bray-Hendricks Park renovation and the Jay Community Center renovation, two main projects currently going on in the town. Bray-Hendricks Park The town’s engineering plans were submitted to the state of Florida June 13 and questions about the environmental resources permit are being answered. Grant administrator Robin Phillips completed the environmental review and the results were s...

  • Old middle school shut down

    Joe Thomas and Gretchen McPherson, Ledger Staff|Aug 1, 2024

    With school bells set to ring next week, teachers, employees and administrators in Flomaton have been scrambling after learning last week that the old Flomaton Middle School building had to be evacuated due to faults in the roof, prompting the Escambia County (Ala.) Board of Education Monday afternoon to approve a resolution declaring a state of emergency at Flomaton High School due to roof damage discovered on July 25, 2024. Flomaton High School Principal Mark Harbison said he learned about 10:...

  • School board sets up for schools to open the new year

    Gretchen McPherson, Ledger Staff|Aug 1, 2024

    The Escambia County (Ala.) Board of Education approved several items for the upcoming school year starting next week, as well as heard an update of on-going projects from Deputy of Operations Shaun Goolsby at its meeting Monday afternoon. The cafeteria floor at Escambia County High School is complete. Luxury vinyl tile was installed after work was done to smooth the floor where years of patches made it a tripping hazard. The project was taken care of by emergency contract so it would be...

  • Edwards says the school system is taking a step back

    Gretchen McPherson, Ledger Staff|Jul 18, 2024

    "I see the resignation of our director of primary education (Nicole Spottswood), and that greatly concerns me," is how Escambia County (Ala.) Board of Education's member Mike Edwards described his reaction to the boards approval of recommended personnel changes at its special meeting last Friday. "What this says to me is that this board is dismantling the efforts to move forward with the programs we established in the last two to three years, which we've spent millions of federal and state...

  • Century OKs $3.4 million bid for its sewer lift stations

    Gretchen McPherson, Ledger Staff|Jul 18, 2024

    Tuesday night, the Century Town Council approved to award the lowest bid of $3,365,175 to Talcon Group in repairing five of the 22 of the town’s sewer lift stations as part of Phase II Project. Phase II Project includes work at the wastewater treatment plant and rehabilitation of the town’s 22 lift stations, five of which were bid on by Municipal Engineering. Municipal Engineering’s Dale Long presented to the council for the $3 million estimated repairs of the lift stations: No. 1 at Century Cor...

  • Jay hires contractor to keep water in compliance

    Gretchen McPherson|Jul 4, 2024

    Jay Operations Manager Eric Seib told the council Monday night the town has hired an independent contractor for its water and wastewater services to remain in compliance following the death of former Water and Wastewater Superintendent ‘Rocky’ Witt June 19. “We’ve hired a part-time water and wastewater operations independent contractor to hold our licenses and do daily sampling until we can find a long-term solution,” said Seib. Seib said that the town has an inter-local agreement with eigh...

  • Pensacola Energy to help in Century

    Gretchen McPherson|Jul 4, 2024

    Tuesday night, the Century Council held open public hearings and unanimously approved the first reading of three ordinances that amend the town’s charter by putting them in the town’s policies and procedures for ease of operations. These ordinances will appear on the November 5 ballot because they are currently in the town’s charter. The town’s charter is about 40 years old and recent infrastructure necessities, such as emergency approval for well parts and repair, have prompted town personn...

  • Jay mourns the loss of fireman

    Gretchen McPherson|Jun 27, 2024

    The town of Jay is mourning the death of 27-year-old Clay Brown, who lost his life when the 2016 Ford F-150 he was driving struck a utility pole and drainage ditch last Saturday morning. According to an Alabama Law Enforcement Agency report, Brown was traveling southbound on State Road 87 around 2:35 a.m., approaching the intersection with County Road 87A when for unknown reasons, the vehicle left the roadway and collided with the ditch and pole. Brown, the driver and sole occupant of the...

  • Two die in separate crashes

    Gretchen McPherson, Ledger Staff|Jun 20, 2024

    A Castleberry woman was killed Monday and a Century man died from injuries suffered on June 10 in two separate vehicle crashes that occurred in Escambia County, Ala. and Santa Rosa County, Fla. Thelma Bradley, 82, of Castleberry was killed Monday when her vehicle was struck by a tractor trailer on Highway 87, a half mile south of the Alabama state line. John D. Woods, 68, of Century died June 13 from injuries he suffered in a June 10 crash in Brewton. Bradley According to a Florida Highway...

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