Jay Wins, Northview Out In Softball Regional Tourney
May 4, 2018
The Jay Lady Royals beat Bozeman 1-0 and Wewahitchka shut out Northview 5-0 Thursday night in the 3-1A regional tournament
Jay will host Wewahitchka Tuesday at 7 p.m. for the district championship.
Alyssa Baxley earned the win on the mound for Jay in seven innings, allowing four hits and striking out nine. She went 2-3 at the plate with a RBI.
Pictured: The Jay Lady Royals earned a win over Bozeman Thursday night in regional play. Photos by Diann Tagert for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Beat The M-Braves
May 4, 2018
Chadwick Tromp’s two-run double was the knockout blow in Thursday night’s 7-1 win at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
The game was tied at one run apiece when the Wahoos sent 10 men to the plate in the sixth inning. After Gavin LaValley singled and Josh VanMeter drew an 11 pitch walk, M-Braves starter Michael Mader (L, 1-1) was pulled from the game for Corbin Clouse. The left-hander struggled with his command and issued a walk to Taylor Sparks before Chadick Tromp doubled home LaValley and VanMeter to make it 3-1. The inning continued in bizarre fashion when Alberti Chavez grounded into a fielders choice at third base with no out being recorded. M-Braves third baseman Austin Riley attempted to tag out Sparks at third but was unsuccessful, which loaded the bases again. C.J. McElroy singled and Shed Long drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 6-1.
Wahoos starter Keury Mella started Thursday’s game slowly but ultimately turned in a strong performance. After a walk and an error in the first inning, Tyler Neslony singled to right to give Mississippi a 1-0 lead. With runners on the corners, Mella induced Alex Jackson into an inning-ending double-play to end the visitor’s threat. Mella finished the night having pitched five innings. He only allowed the one run, which was unearned. He also picked up his first hit of the season and reduced his Southern-League best ERA to 0.84.
Pensacola added one more insurance run in the eighth inning when Long unloaded an opposite-field home run for his first of the season. The bullpen continued to impress with Robinson Leyer and Rafael De Paula (S, 1) combining for four scoreless innings. De Paula pitched the last three of the game with six strikeouts to earn his first save of the season. Blue Wahoos relievers have allowed just one run over the last 13 innings pitching going back to the Jacksonville series.
RHP Jesus Reyes (0-4, 5.06) will try to clinch the series win for Pensacola tomorrow against RHP Touki Toussaint (1-1, 4.44).
ECSO: Man Trespassed On Northview High Campus, Threatened To Kill Student
May 3, 2018
A young Century man has been arrested after allegedly trespassing on the Northview High School campus and threatening to kill a student.
Levi Austin Cofield, 18, was charged with trespassing on school grounds, simple assault and criminal mischief with property damage.
The victim told deputies he was walking by the after school car rider line when he heard Cofield yell out the passenger window of a truck that he was going to “beat” him. The victim said he ignored Cofield and continued to his truck in the student parking lot. The victim said he got into his truck when Cofield approached and attempted to pull the door open. He said he grabbed the interior door handle to close the door, but Cofield grabbed the door and yanked it so hard it broke the interior of the door, just before Cofield pulled the door handle off.
Cofield then used thge door handle to strike the driver’s window several times while stating, “I will kill you,” according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report.
The victim said he had previous been threatened by Cofield while off the school campus and told deputies Cofield wanted to fight over an incident due to a previous incident between Cofield’s adult brother and the victim.
Another student confirmed the victim’s account, according to the report, as did surveillance video.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, Cofield withdrew from Northview High School at the end of the 2016-2017 school year, is not an enrolled student and “had no business at the school on the day of the incident”.
Cofield was trespass warned…no longer allowed on the Northview campus, including a ban from any after school activities.
He was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $1,500 bond.
New Ambulance Company To Serve Flomaton, Replace Escambia County (FL) EMS
May 3, 2018
A new ambulance company will take over in the Flomaton area later this month, replacing coverage from Escambia County (FL) EMS.
The Escambia County (AL) Healthcare Authority (ECHA) has reached an agreement with Lifeguard Ambulance Service to begin serving he Flomaton area in Alabama beginning at 8 a.m. on May 14.
Escambia County (FL) EMS has provided the primary ambulance service in Flomaton for about 37 years. The last signed agreement in 2015 between the parties stipulated a $7,983.62 per month payment from ECHA to Escambia County, with possible increased due to inflation factors.
The Escambia County (FL) EMS unit that normally serves Flomaton is stationed in Century, and that unit will remain based in Century, according to Mike Weaver, Escambia County Public Safety Director, and there will be a mutual aid agreement in place between Escambia County and Lifeguard.
Lifeguard is the exclusive ambulance service in Santa Rosa County, operates under the MedStar name in Baldwin County, AL, and provides ambulance services in several other cities including Mobile and Birmingham, AL; Bay County, FL; and Chattanooga, Knoxville and Nashville, TN.
Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Sunny And Warm Weather Continues
May 3, 2018
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: Patchy fog after 2am. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 61. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 86. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Friday Night: Patchy fog after 2am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 63. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Saturday: Areas of fog before 8am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 84. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming north after midnight.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 84. North wind around 5 mph.
Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 60. North wind around 5 mph.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 85. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 61. North wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 85.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 63.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 84.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 63.
Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 84.
Cantonment Rotary Club Awards College Scholarships
May 3, 2018
The Cantonment Rotary Club has awarded several scholarships to deserving students at Pensacola State College.
The Ike Terry Music Scholarship was initially named in memory of Cantonment Rotarian James “Ike’ Terry, who was very active in music in Pensacola. Now the scholarships have been broadened in scope to include vocational and professional scholarships in memory of Cantonment Rotarian Ted Ciano who made sizeable donations to the Foundation.
The recipients of this year’s scholarships totaling $7500.00 are:
Ike Terry – Music: Megan Dicamillo – Piano, Brenan Woody – Guitar
Paralegal: Dana Wimmers,Kelley Anne Wheeler
Ted Ciano – Vocational: Jacob Chauvin, Ruby Carter, Hannah Flint
Pictured: Cantonment Rotarian and Foundation Trustee Jack O’Donnell with pianist Megan Dicamillo and guitarist Brenan Woody. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Lady Aggies Get 2-1 Win Over Milton In Regional Quarterfinals
May 3, 2018
The Tate Lady Aggies beat Milton 2-1 in the Region 1-7A quarterfinals Tuesday night.
Hanna Brown pitched a complete game, allowing four hits, one run and striking about two.
For the Lady Aggies: Ryleigh Cawby 1, Kayliegh Cawthon 1-2; Shelby McLean 1-3, R: Deazia Nickerson 1-2, RBI; Madisen Nelson RBI.
The Tate Lady Aggies will play Niceville on Tuesday.
Photos courtesy WEAR 3 for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
National Day Of Prayer Events Planned For Today
May 3, 2018
National Day of Prayer events are planned today in Atmore, Century and Pensacola.
Events will be held:
Century – 7 p.m. — Century Community Center, West Highway 4. Prayer service.
Atmore – 5:30 – 6:00 p.m. — Community prayer service in the Escambia County High School Gym. There will be a simultaneous children’s prayer service in the RPM Trailer.
Pensacola – noon — Pensacola City Hall.
St. Luke’s Methodist, Nine Mile Road – 7 p.m. — Prayer, music and worship.
Pictured: National Day of Prayer 2017 in Century (above) and Atmore (below). NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
District Semifinal: Tate Shuts Out Pine Forest
May 3, 2018
The Tate Aggies won their District 1-7A semifinal game over Pine Forest Wednesday, 12-0 in six innings.
Raymond LaFleur earned the win for Tate in five innings, allowing one hit and no runs while striking out four.
Nolan Rigby took the loss for Pine Forest. He gave up six runs on five hits in two and a third innings while striking out one.
Raymond LaFleur had three-run home run for Tate, going 1-2 with a run and three RBIs.
For Tate: Reid Halfacre 1-4, RBI, 2R; Jesse Sherrill 2-4, RBI: Mason Land 1-3, RBI; Hunter McLean 2-3, 2RBI, R; Blake Anderson 2-4, 2R; Darrien McDowell 2R; Ethan Bloodwoth R; Hunter Riggan 1-1, 2RBI; Trent Jeffcoat 1-2, 2R; Ryan Green R; Raymond LaFleur 1-2, HR, 3RBI.
Photos courtesy WEAR 3 for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Cuts To Florida Prison Drug Programs Draw Criticism
May 3, 2018
As Florida continues to deal with an opioid crisis, state corrections officials are moving ahead on a plan to cut substance-abuse services to make up a shortfall in health-care funding for the prison system.
“We’re in the worst drug epidemic that this country and Florida have ever seen and we’re talking now about reducing programs at the same exact time we’re trying to turn the corner on this epidemic. It just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me,” Mark Fontaine, executive director of the Florida Alcohol & Drug Abuse Association, said Wednesday.
The state Department of Corrections announced the plan Tuesday evening, saying services had to be cut to shift money to the health care program, where there is a $55 million shortfall.
Corrections Secretary Julie Jones said although lawmakers increased health-care funding for the prison system, the department does not have enough money to cover a new contract for medical, dental, mental-health and hospital services in the budget year that begins July 1. The current contract expires at the end of June.
The agency projects it will need an additional $28 million in 2018-2019 to fund the new contract and will have to offset $26.8 million in rising costs for pharmaceuticals.
“In order to secure a health services contractor, fund the increased pharmaceutical budget, and adjust for reductions, we’ve unfortunately had to make some very difficult decisions. At the start of the next fiscal year, we will be reducing some of our current contracts with community providers,” Jones said in a statement.
The reductions will be felt across the state, impacting some 33 community providers that offer substance-abuse services and other programs, ranging from life-skills development to job placement, designed to help prisoners successfully return to society once they have served sentences.
“They are reducing or eliminating contracts that they have with community providers that are providing very valuable, evidence-based and effective programs in order to get to that goal,” Fontaine said.
The cuts include a 40 percent reduction in funding for substance-abuse and mental-health treatment for prisoners returning to their communities, representing a $9.1 million reduction. Another $1.6 million will be cut in transitional housing services.
In the prisons, another $7.6 million in substance-abuse services will be eliminated, and the plan will shift prisoners receiving more intensive “therapeutic” treatment to “more cost-effective” work-release programs, providing another $6 million in savings, according to the plan.
Another $2.3 million will be cut from basic-education re-entry centers, while smaller cuts include $500,000 used to fund chaplains and librarians.
Fontaine said cuts in substance-abuse treatment are particularly troubling.
“Seventy percent of the people in prison have a drug problem, and these are the few critical services we have providing drug treatment and they’re talking about reducing those,” he said.
He also said effective drug treatment can help reduce the rate of prisoners returning to the system, reduce costs and protect communities.
“We’ve seen that over and over again. Research-based drug treatment makes a difference,” Fontaine said.
In an interview Tuesday night with The News Service of Florida, Senate Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Chairman Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, said the prison system funding crisis had “been festering for years” and that lawmakers failed to adequately respond to the issue.
Brandes said health-care funding shortfalls have to be addressed, but he lamented the impact on the substance-abuse services.
“You can’t have an opioid crisis and cut opioid funding. You can’t just let people out of prison without some type of transition back into society. These are the types of programs that the research shows provide the best outcomes,” he said.
Fontaine, who said he is talking with lawmakers, legislative staff and Gov. Rick Scott’s aides, suggested one way to address the crisis would be to shift some of the state’s reserve funds into the prison budget, although lawmakers have been reluctant to spend down reserves.
“It’s not like we have to take this (budget-cutting) action. There are other actions that can be done. It just takes the political will to do it,” he said.
The privatization of prison health care has been an ongoing problem for the state, with the Department of Corrections going through a series of companies in an attempt to provide the services. Jones is negotiating a new contract with Centurion of Florida LLC, which provides the current services for about 87,000 inmates. The new contract is expected to be a five-year, $2 billion agreement.
by Lloyd Dunkelberger, The News Service of Florida