Biscuits Beat The Wahoos
August 6, 2018
Montgomery score six runs over the seventh and eighth innings to even the five-game series with a 7-3 win Sunday night at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
The Wahoos led 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth before the Biscuits took control of the game. Brett Sullivan led off with a double, followed by Dalton Kelly getting hit by a pitch. Lucius Fox laid down a sacrifice bunt, but the throw to first base got away and Sullivan dashed home all the way from second base to tie the game. Nathan Lukes delivered an RBI single to give the Biscuits the lead 3-2. In the eighth the Biscuits would send nine to the plate and score four runs off reliever Alejandro Chacin to extend the lead to 7-2. Jesus Sanchez led the inning off with a home run, which sparked the rally. The inning featured three hits, two walks and an error which put the game out of reach.
Jose Siri tied the franchise second-half record with his 10th home run in the ninth inning in the 7-3 defeat. It was the only run Mike Broadway allowed over his 2.1 innings to close out the game.
Starter Daniel Wright (L, 6-7) threw a career-high 107 pitches in the losing effort. Wright had a rough first inning when he allowed one run on three hits. He settled down, posting five scoreless innings that included sitting down 12 consecutive batters spanning from the last out in the second until Jake Cronenworth drew a walk with two outs in the sixth. Wright’s night ended without getting an out in the seventh after surrendering the lead.
Monday night the Wahoos will look to win the rubber match, to extend their series unbeaten streak to 13. Pensacola will start RHP Wyatt Strahan (6-8, 6.46), and RHP Benton Moss (4-4, 3.82) will take the hill for Montgomery.
$2 Million Contribution For Health Care Expansion In Century
August 5, 2018
The Escambia County Health Facilities Authority is making up to a $2 million contribution to expand health care options in Century.
The contribution will help fund and expand the Lakeview Center, including additional space for Community Health Northwest Florida, formerly known as the Escambia Community Clinics.
“This is, for almost the six years that we have been in office, the best news that has happened inside the town of Century,” Escambia County Commissioner Steven Barry said. “It’s really going to a great thing.”
The nearly 5,000 square foot expansion will include five medical exam rooms, a new dental suite, and expanded lobby and additional parking in the rear of the building located in the Century Industrial Park.
Community Heath Chief Executive Officer Chandra Smiley said the expansion will add capacity for about 5,000 additional medical visits and 1,600 dental per year. It will also mean about seven new jobs, which Community Health will seek to fill with local residents.
Community Health Northwest Florida is a non-profit community health center that strives to provide quality, comprehensive healthcare services to the medically underserved residents of the Pensacola area and surrounding regions of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. Current locations include Century Adult and Family Care and Century Pediatrics on Church Street, and Cantonment Adult and Family Care.
The Escambia County Health Facilities Authority is a special purpose public corporation which provides capital financing for non-profit health care organizations. The authority was established by the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners, which appoints the Authority’s five board members. The Authority is self-supporting and receives no federal, state or local governmental funding.
Courtesy images for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Back To School Sales Tax Holiday Ends Today
August 5, 2018
The Back to School Sales Tax Holiday in Florida ends at midnight Sunday. Qualifying items will be exempt from tax including: certain school supplies selling for $15 or less per item; and clothing, footwear, and certain accessories selling for $60 or less per item. For a complete list of eligible items, click here.
Northview NJROTC Holds Orientation Camp
August 5, 2018
Incoming freshmen at Northview High School recently participated in a week-long Naval Science orientation camp for the NJROTC unit. The learning and fun activities at the camp included a NJROTC program overview, Northview campus tour, basic drill, basic uniform standards, physical fitness, Adopt-A-Campus and a field trip to the Pensacola Lighthouse.
The focus was all about developing team-building skills and getting to know their future peers, and the program they will be participating in prior to the new school year and entering high school. Orientation was ran by graduates of the Leadership Academy and Basic Leadership Training camp held yearly at NAS Pensacola.
Program participants were John Bashore, Aaliyah Cottrell, Jonathan Gibbs, Paige Gibbs, Wyatt Greenberg, James Hasty, Ethan Kilburn, Dallon Rackard, Ashton Ray, Aaliyah Tucker and Skylar Wise.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Local Thrift Store Offers Back To School Deals, New Hours
August 5, 2018
A local thrift store has new hours, and they are have bargains just in time for back to school shopping.
The My Father’s Arrows Thrift Store in Century is now open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. The store offers a clothing, housewares and more. It is located at 11 East Highway 4 near the railroad tracks, just east of North Century Boulevard.
My Father’s Arrows is a faith based, community driven, public charity that helps children in foster care. Foster families received free merchandise when they provide their care and custody letter.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Contributed.
Funeral Services Set For Beloved Retired Educator Donald Helton
August 5, 2018
Funeral services were held Sunday for a beloved retried educator who lost his life while fishing Thursday on Escambia Bay.
Donald Ray Helton of Catonment fell overboard into the bay. He was 79.
Funeral services for Helton were held Sunday afternoon at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home in Atmore.
Helton was a retired seventh grade science teacher at Ransom Middle School. The 1962 University of Alabama graduate had passion for Alabama Crimson Tide football and fishing.
He was a native of Huxford, AL, a former resident of the Atmore area and had lived in Cantonment since 1965.
His survived by his wife of 57-years, Patsy Helton of Cantonment, son Michael and numerous relatives. For the complete obituary, click here.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Turn Out The Lights?
August 5, 2018
Thousands of red-hatted fans braved the heat and the rain to crowd into a Tampa arena this week, greeting President Donald Trump with a raucous welcome and boosting the political fortunes of Trump acolyte Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis, a Northeast Florida congressman, has made Trump’s endorsement a cornerstone of his primary campaign against Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, the “establishment” candidate who just a blink of an eye ago was considered the clear front-runner in the contest to succeed outgoing Gov. Rick Scott.
But after a seeming lifetime of preparation to take up residence at 700 North Adams Street, Putnam’s candidacy for governor now appears doomed, in what one veteran Republican operative gloomily predicted “could be the last nail in the GOP’s coffin in Florida.”
“The Republican Party has lost its collective mind. It is some sort of mass psychosis. I close my eyes and I see my colleagues in the party just shuffling across this broad plain like lemmings, as they raise this little cloud of dust as they head toward the cliff,” operative J.M. “Mac” Stipanovich told The News Service of Florida in a telephone interview this week.
If Trump’s endorsement of DeSantis — described by Stipanovich as “a hologram of a man who knows nothing about Florida” and “whose only claim to fame is 100 appearances on Fox TV and being a Trump sycophant” — secures the nomination for the congressman, “it is a disheartening commentary on the shallowness, superficiality and the gullibility of the Republican primary electorate,” Stipanovich said.
The eloquent and erudite Stipanovich, a wily political strategist who’s advised a number of Republican governors and played a role in the 2000 presidential recount, said he isn’t writing off Putnam, yet, “if for no other reason than that hope springs eternal.”
But Republican strategist Rick Wilson, one of the founders of the “Never Trump” movement, sees more dire headwinds for Putnam’s dream of moving into the governor’s mansion.
“It’s over. It’s been over for a while. It no longer matters what you are, what you believe, where you come from. What matters now is does Donald Trump tweet about you and does Fox News book you every night or not,” said Wilson, the author of “Everything Trump Touches Dies: A Republican Strategist Gets Real About the Worst President Ever,” which will be released Tuesday.
Wilson is among a chorus of strategists on both sides of the aisle who say a DeSantis nomination could help Democrats in November, if the right candidate makes it out of the crowded primary.
“The pro-Trump, pro-Fox, Ron DeSantis audience that exists in the Republican base is not purple Florida. It is not a 50-percent-plus-one equation at this moment,” he said, while warning that the Democrats “could easily f— things up.”
“Their infinite capacity to screw themselves is remarkable, but without too fine a point on the thing, if they pick a Gwen Graham, they have a chance. And if they pick a Jeff Greene, welcome to Gov. DeSantis,” Wilson said.
TRUMP TALK
Trump thrust his outsized persona into the middle of Florida’s governor’s race with a full-throated endorsement of DeSantis in the Sunshine State’s largest media market Tuesday.
Less than a month before the Aug. 28 gubernatorial primary, Trump opened his speech by telling a crowd of more than 10,000 people packed into the cavernous Expo Hall at the Florida State Fairgrounds that DeSantis was a “good friend” and a “tough, brilliant cookie.”
DeSantis, a three-term congressman who grew up in nearby Dunedin, said it was “a true honor to be standing here endorsed by the president of the United States.”
“I appreciate your support. But I appreciate more the leadership you are showing,” DeSantis said, citing Trump’s record on the economy, Israel and U.S. Supreme Court appointments.
DeSantis said Florida “is going in the right direction” but can continue to improve on “economic opportunities,” and “we can fight illegal immigration.”
His last statement drew a loud cheer and chants of “build that wall.” DeSantis said he would support imposing an electronic-verification system to make sure Florida workers have legal immigration status. He also said he would “stop sanctuary cities,” although there are none in Florida.
Putnam, who celebrated his 44th birthday Tuesday at a political event highlighting veterans in The Villages retirement community, said he supports Trump and his agenda.
“But this is about being Florida’s governor. This is about leading a $1 trillion economy in the third largest state, and to do that you need to know Florida,” Putnam said. “I know Florida better than any of the other candidates running. I’m confident that there’s an awful lot of Trump-Putnam voters out there who want a governor who actually understands the challenges facing them and puts them first.”
The venue Tuesday was important because the Tampa Bay media market can potentially reach a quarter of the state’s voters and has the largest concentration of Republican voters, said Susan MacManus, a longtime political-science professor at the University of South Florida.
“It’s clear now that DeSantis is playing offense and Putnam is playing defense. We’ll have to see. Putnam probably still has a lot of loyalists who see polls that suggest he could be better against any of the Democratic nominees,” MacManus said.
Several times during Trump’s speech, he made sure to mention his support for DeSantis, who has been a frequent guest on the Fox News network and is an ardent defender of the president.
“He’s going to be an incredible governor,” Trump said.
Trump also said he doesn’t “do these endorsements easily,” but then cited his recent endorsement of Brian Kemp, a hard-line conservative who went on to a landslide victory in a Georgia Republican primary for governor.
DOGGONE ‘TRICKERATION’
The state is appealing a Tallahassee judge’s decision this week to knock off the November ballot a proposed constitutional amendment that would end commercial greyhound racing.
Leon County Circuit Judge Karen Gievers on Wednesday called the proposed constitutional amendment misleading and “outright trickeration.”
“Contrary to the words presented for consideration by the voters, the amendment would not end dog racing, nor would it eliminate wagering on dog racing,” Gievers wrote in Wednesday’s order.
“In short, proposed Amendment 13 is misleading and inaccurate and incomplete, while adding up to a ‘hide the ball,’ ‘fly a false flag’ and outright ‘trickeration,’ ” she wrote.
Attorneys for the state moved quickly Thursday to appeal Gievers’ ruling.
The proposed constitutional amendment is one of eight ballot measures placed on the Nov. 6 general-election ballot by the state Constitution Revision Commission. Attorney General Pam Bondi has been an outspoken proponent of the plan to do away with dog racing.
“This issue has been out there for a long time,” Kate MacFall, the co-chairwoman of the political committee supporting the proposal, said in an interview Thursday. “We know that it’s illegal in 40 other states. The CRC (Constitution Revision Commission) process put this on the ballot, and I think it’s fair and just to give Florida voters a voice.”
But Jack Cory, a lobbyist for the Florida Greyhound Association, which represents breeders and trainers and filed the lawsuit, issued a statement supporting Gievers’ conclusion that the amendment would mislead voters.
As an example of the issues involved in the case, Gievers ruled that the ballot proposal would be misleading because it would not actually ban dog-race wagering. That is because betting would still be allowed at Florida tracks on races broadcast from outside the state.
“You can lie to the CRC to get something put on the ballot, you can even lie to the media, and you can try to lie to the people of the state of Florida,” Cory said in an interview Thursday. “You cannot lie to the courts, without severe consequences.”
STORY OF THE WEEK: President Donald Trump stumped in Tampa for Republican Congressman Ron DeSantis, who is now the front-runner in the GOP primary against Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam to succeed Gov. Rick Scott.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “This is the Normandy for the Democratic Party in Florida.” — Former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine, a Democrat running for governor, referring to the 2018 election.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Normal Slight Chance Of Summer Showers
August 5, 2018
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92. Calm wind.
Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 73. Calm wind.
Monday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 94. Heat index values as high as 105. Calm wind.
Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. Calm wind.
Tuesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 93. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 73. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Wednesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 73. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Thursday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 90.
Thursday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 73.
Friday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Partly sunny, with a high near 90. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73.
Saturday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 91.
Flomaton House Fire Under Investigation
August 5, 2018
The cause of a house fire near Flomaton Saturday night is under investigation.
The fire reportedly stated in the living room area of the structure on Sardine Road, just off Highway 113 north of Flomaton . There were no injuries reported. The Alabama State Fire Marshal’s Office was called to investigation.
The Flomaton, Friendship and Lambeth fire departments, and the Century Station of Escambia Fire Rescue responded.
File photo.
Biscuits Beat The Wahoos
August 5, 2018
Montgomery scored four runs in the top of the 13th inning and took game three by a final score of 9-5, Saturday night at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
With two outs in the 13th, Jake Cronenworth broke a 5-5 tie with a two-run single off Carlos Navas (L, 4-2) to give the Biscuits a 7-5 lead. They would double the advantage with another two-run single from Michael Brosseau to put the game out reach.
Santillan battled all night against the Biscuits posting his fourth quality start in six outings. Despite allowing base runners in all but one of his six innings, Santillan’s only setback came in the second inning on two unearned runs.
Rafael De Paula replaced Santillan in the seventh and walked the bases loaded. He was then lifted for Robinson Leyer, who escaped the bases loaded jam, allowing only one run. Leyer and Joel Bender combined for 3.1 innings on three hits, three walks, and three strikeouts.
The Wahoos had chances to walk off in the extras. In the 10th with the winning run at second, Mitch Nay grounded out to short to end the Wahoos chances at a win. In the 11th, the Wahoos again scored the tying run and had the winning run at third but Luis Gonzalez hit into an inning-ending double play to send the game to the 12th. The Wahoos were 4-for-24 with runners in scoring position and left 13 men on base.
The Wahoos will look to improve their series unbeaten streak to 13 in Sunday’s game against the Biscuits. The Wahoos will start RHP Daniel Wright (6-6, 3.68), and RHP Benton Moss (4-4, 3.82) will take the hill for the Biscuits.