Wahoos Back on Track with 7-4 Win
August 15, 2018
The Blue Wahoos made McKenzie Mill’s (L, 0-1) Double-A debut he’ll soon want to forget. The Wahoos ambushed the southpaw with five runs in the first inning and never looked back in a 7-4 win Tuesday night at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Mills, who was acquired by the Marlins on Friday, was chased out of the game after two-thirds of an inning. After Jose Siri popped out to open the game the next five Wahoos would all come home to score. With two on, Aristides Aquino blooped his first of three hits into right field to load the bases. Shed Long followed with a bases-clearing triple to make it 3-0. The next batter was Taylor Featherston and he crushed his first home run since joining the Wahoos to make it 5-0. After hitting Chris Okey with a pitch, manager Randy Ready went to his bullpen and Scott Squier retired Wahoos starter Seth Varner to end the first inning.
Varner (W, 8-2) turned in another winning effort with seven innings of eight hit, three-run ball against Jacksonville. There were moments where Varner ran into trouble. He allowed a home run to Brian Schales in the second inning, which brought the score to 5-1. In the third, he hit Joe Dunand on an 0-2 pitch, and Dunand would come to score after Jacksonville rattled off a pair of hits in the fourth. In the fifth, Monte Harrison barreled his 17th homer of the year to make it a 5-3 game.
However, the offense picked up Varner and came right back with two runs in the bottom of the fifth to extend the lead to 7-3. Taylor Featherston smacked a one-out triple to center field and scored on Gavin LaValley’s RBI-single. After a base hit from Okey, Varner picked up his first career RBI with a single to left to bring home LaValley.
Alex Powers (S, 16) closed out the ninth inning for the Wahoos for his third save in as many appearances. Powers struck out one and with a man on forced Brian Miller to pop out to short to end the game.
The Wahoos continue their five-game series against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp on Wednesday. RHP Vladimir Gutierrez (9-9, 4.16) will take the hill for Pensacola against RHP Nick Neidert (10-6, 3.23).
One Injured In Cantonment Crash
August 14, 2018
One person was injured in a traffic crash at East Kingsfield Road and Tate Road in Cantonment about 8:34 this morning. The injured person was transported to an area hospital by Escambia County EMS. The wreck is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Escambia Schools: No More Walking Kids To Class, New SROs, Metal Detectors
August 14, 2018
New safety and security measures in place this year in the Escambia County School District include metal detectors, additonal resource officers, and a new policy banning parents from continuing to walk their children to class.
“Some of this may have parents feeling inconvenienced, but it’s the little price we pay to have schools safe and locked down,” Escambia County School Superintendent Malcolm Thomas said.
Random Metal Detector Screenings
Metal detectors will be used randomly in middle and high schools. Students will watch a video next week explaining the process, and parents will be notified.
“There will single points of entrance on campuses, and visitors and parents will first go to the main office to swipe their driver’s license,” Thomas said.
No More Walking Students To Class
Parents of elementary school students will only be allowed to walk their students to class the first three days of school.
“After the third day, will not allow parents to walk students to class,” he said. “We don’t know who is suppose to be on the campus and who is not unless they checked into the system. We are compliant with the new security requirements signed by the governor last spring. Parents will need a yellow security badge from the main office. Will will question people in the hallway without one,” the superintendent said.
SRO or Armed Security At Every School
There is now a school resource officer at every middle and high school, and armed off-duty law enforcement officers from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office or Pensacola Police Department on every elementary campus. Last year, Northview High School and Ernest Ward Middle School shared a SRO, but there is now an officer full-time at both schools. The district’s other high schools, which are larger than Northview, have two school resource officers on campus.
First Aid Kits In Classrooms
By next week, every classroom in the Escambia County School District will have a first aid kit that include compression bandage and tourniquets.
“The kits will be there in the event you had a situation to keep the patient stable until EMS arrives, whether it be an accident or an active shooter,” Thomas said.
Pictured: A classroom at the new Kingsfield Elementary School. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Residents Of Private Road In Molino Request County Improvements
August 14, 2018
The property owners on HomePlace Lane in Molino are requesting to pay the county to make improvements on their private road.
At their Thursday meeting, the Escambia County Commission will consider setting a public hearing on the request to create the Homeplace Lane Roadway Improvements Municipal Services Benefit Unit (MSBU). If the commission approves, the public hearing will be set for 5:31 p.m. on September 6.
Students Head Back To Class (With Photo Gallery)
August 14, 2018
Monday was the first day of school…so that means it’s time for our annual Back to School Photo Gallery.
We asked NorthEscambia.com readers to submit their back to school photos.
For a photo gallery with hundreds of photos, click here.
We apologize, but due to a tremendous response, we were unable to publish all the photos we received, and we are unable to add additional photos to the gallery.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Rylan and Karsyn on their first day of second grade at Beulah Elementary with Mrs. Burgess.
Kamryn and Kylee, Bratt Elementary and Ernest Ward Middle School.
Delaney, seventh grade at Ransom Middle School, Savannah, eleventh grade at Tate High School.
Nora, Molino Park Elementary.
Cooper, first grade, Bratt Elementary.
Eli, first day of kindergarten at the new Kingsfield Elementary
By The Numbers: Voter Registration Stats For Escambia County And Statewide
August 14, 2018
The voter registration books are closed for the 2018 primary election. The official registered voter count in Escambia County is:
- Republican – 93,889 – 45%
- Democratic – 70,930 – 34%
- No Party Affiliation – 42,830 – 20%
- Minor Parties – 1,568 – 0.75%
THE BIG PICTURE: As Florida’s population has continued to grow, so has the number of voters, with 13,013,657 registered to cast ballots in the primaries. By comparison, 12.37 million were registered to vote in the 2016 primaries, and 11.8 million were registered to vote in the 2014 primaries.
Registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans, but not by a lot — 4,839,434 to 4,594,133. While both parties have seen registration increases since the 2016 primaries, the Democratic margin is about the same as it was two years ago.
NO LABELS, PLEASE: Voters who aren’t registered with the Democratic or Republican parties won’t be able to cast ballots in many primary races, including the marquee race for governor. But that hasn’t stopped the trend of Floridians ditching the donkeys and the elephants and registering “no party affiliation.”
The total of so-called NPA voters has climbed to 3,493,494 — or about 27 percent of the electorate. That is up from slightly more than 2.91 million voters, or about 23.6 percent, during the 2016 primaries.
DEMOCRATIC DOMINANCE: Conventional wisdom has long held that Democrats look to South Florida when they need votes. And there’s good reason for that: Miami-Dade County has 586,648 registered Democrats, Broward County has 577,248, and Palm Beach County has 387,445 — nearly a third of all of the registered Democrats in the state.
It’s also no wonder that Democrats focus on the Orlando area. In Orange and Osceola counties, registered Democrats now outnumber Republicans by 161,000 voters. With both parties focusing heavily this year on attracting Hispanic voters, Democrats also hold about a 100,000-voter edge in Orange and Osceola among Latinos.
GOP HEAVEN: Registered Republicans are outnumbered by Democrats in each of the seven most-populated counties — Broward, Duval, Hillsborough, Miami-Dade, Orange, Palm Beach and Pinellas (though the GOP trails by fewer than, 1,000 voters in Pinellas.) But the GOP has been successful for the past two decades, at least in part, because it has dominated regions such as North Florida, Southwest Florida and many suburban areas.
The new numbers bear that out. For example, in Northwest Florida, registered Republicans make up more than half of the voters in Bay, Holmes, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton and Washington counties. The same holds true in Northeast Florida in Baker, Clay, Nassau and St. Johns counties. It also goes for Sumter County, which is home to much of the massive Villages retirement community, and Collier County in Southwest Florida.
DON’T FORGET THE LITTLE GUYS: Much of the attention during this year’s campaign focuses on candidates going to large media markets and party strongholds as they try to amass votes. But the new registration numbers also give a glimpse of smaller, rural counties that can get lost in the debate.
Nine counties — Calhoun, Dixie, Franklin, Glades, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lafayette, Liberty and Union counties — each have fewer than 10,000 registered voters. The smallest are Lafayette, with 4,312 voters, and Liberty, with 4,365, followed by Glades, with 6,751. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans in each of the nine counties, though GOP President Donald Trump carried all of the counties in 2016.
Nominees Named For Escambia District 1 Advisory Committee
August 14, 2018
Nominees to the Northwest District 1 Advisory Committee have been named.
The committee was established by county commission to explore, research, provide technical or practical expertise, and make recommendations to the District 1 member of the Escambia Board of County Commissioners regarding those issues of relevance and significant importance to the citizens of the northwest portion of District 1 of Escambia County. Committee members serve a term of office concurrent with the District 1 commissioner’s term of office.
At their August 16 meeting, the Escambia County Commission will consider the following volunteer members as nominated by District Commissioner Jeff Bergosh:
- Kim Aderholdt
- Dr. Laura Bryant
- Paul Flores
- Jay Ingwell
- Jill Johnson
- George Levy
- David Liechty
- Joseph Poitivan
- Wilson Taylor
Some of the importatnt issues facing District 1, according to the county, are the development of OLF8, planning for extensive traffic, land development and population increases, master planning for the Northwest portion of District 1 (specifically precincts 43, 5, and 68), enhancing the quality of life for all residents, improving access to public transportation, establishing a public library, and many other issues involving growth and the environment.
Thomas: Smooth Start For School Year; Beulah Middle Traffic Not That Bad
August 14, 2018
Overall, the first day of school in Escambia County received an “A” from School Superintendent Malcolm Thomas.
One of the biggest changes this year was the addition of the new Beulah Middle School on West Nine Mile Road and Kingsfield Elementary School on Kingsfield Road, and the first day went smoothly, he said.
“The intake process worked liked it had been in operation for a long time,” Thomas said. “The traffic concerns never really materialized because the start of school is later than the shift changes at Navy Federal.”
Escambia Fire Rescue, Escambia County EMS and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office stood by to slow school zone traffic at Beulah Middle, Kingsfield Elementary and other schools across the county.
“It was a pretty good day…you expect some delays like we had one bus breakdown….but things wen pretty good,” Thomas said. “And our teachers and staff came back prepared.”
Pictured: The school zone on Nine Mile Road at the new Beulah Middle School Monday morning. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Portion Of Medical Park Drive In Atmore Closed Thursday
August 14, 2018
Medical Park Drive in Atmore will be closed from East Laurel Street to McRae Street on Thursday for 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. for utility work, according to the City of Atmore.
Daily Dose Of Showers
August 14, 2018
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tuesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 91. Calm wind.
Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72. Calm wind.
Wednesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 91. Calm wind.
Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 73. Calm wind.
Thursday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 90. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Friday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 89. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph.
Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. Calm wind.
Saturday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 89.
Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74.
Sunday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 91.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72.
Monday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91.