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The Town of Century approved unanimously to hire Jennifer Tien from Michigan as its town clerk Tuesday night at a salary of $86,000 and three weeks vacation, a week more than the standard two weeks a new employee receives. Tien requested three weeks vacation per year during negotiations, although the town’s 1993 employee handbook policy allows for three weeks of vacation after five years of service. Tien said she was currently receiving five weeks of vacation in her current role in Michigan a...
The Alabama State Report Card was recently published and Escambia County (Ala.) overall maintained a ‘B’, with the score dropping one point from 84 for 2022-2023 to 83 for 2023-2024. Each school in the county is given both a number and letter grade. Comparison this year’s report card to last year’s, Flomaton Elementary School maintained a ‘B’ improving from 80 to 83. Flomaton High School also improved from a ‘B’ at 88 to an ‘A’ at 90. Escambia County High School went from a ‘D’ at 65 last year...
Tuesday night, the Century Town Council unanimously approved a resolution that allows the mayor to spend up to $10,000 without council approval and requires two signatures on any check the town issues. Councilwoman Shelisa McCall was not in attendance. Right now, according to the town’s 40-plus year old charter, the mayor cannot spend more than $199 without council approval. The approval of an amendment by Century voters in the November 5 General Election will allow the Century mayor to spend m...
The Greater Escambia Council for the Arts opens with 'An Enchanted Bookshop Christmas' Thursday (tonight) at 7 p.m. at 100 S. Trammell St. in Atmore. Two casts will perform this weekend and next. Above, members of one cast rehearse. See page 2A for more information. See more on page 2A,...
Although snow is scarce, adults and kids alike got to 'ice' skate Monday and Tuesday at the Linda Carden Community Center on Booker Lane in Jay....
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...
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...
'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...
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...
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...
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....
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...
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....
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....
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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:...
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...
"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...
