Train Blocks Access To Molino Neighborhood For Hours
August 29, 2017
A stopped CSX train had residents of one Molino neighborhood stuck with no way out late Monday afternoon.
Residents said the Fairground and Daffin Road crossings were blocked for a couple of hours just after 4 p.m. Monday. Until the train moved again about 6:40, residents of Daffin Road, Fairground Road, River Bend Road and Yuhasz Road were unable to get out of the their neighborhood.
Reader submitted photo by Jamie Caston for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview Chiefs Name Players Of The Week
August 29, 2017
Northview High School has named players of the week from their 14-7 win over the J.U. Blacksher Bulldogs.
Trent Peebles (#25 above) was named Dominator of the Week. He broke six tackles and carried two defenders 14 yards on a game-clinching run.
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Lance McLaughlin (#52 above) was named Defensive Player of the Week with 10 tackles, two tackles for a loss and one sack.
Aunterio Minor (#1 above) was named the Offensive Player of the Week with 17 rushes for 121 yards.
Hunter Spence (above) was named Special Teams Player of the Week with three punts and zero return yards.
Also, Hunter Breedlove was named the Scout Team Player of the Week.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
State Files Complaint Over Pensacola Greyhound Track Card Games
August 29, 2017
State gambling regulators have filed filed complaints alleging that Pensacola Greyhound Racing failed to comply with requirements for “designated player games”.
The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation filed the administrative complaint.
The games, in which a player acts as the “bank,” were at the center of a legal battle between the state and the Seminole Tribe. The battle focused on whether the wildly popular — and lucrative — games violated the tribal casinos’ “exclusive” rights to offer banked card games such as blackjack.
Scott and the Seminoles reached an agreement this summer after U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle ruled in favor of the tribe.
In the July agreement, the state agreed to drop its appeal of the federal court decision and to take “aggressive enforcement action” against pari-mutuels that might be violating state law in the way they conduct designated-player games. State law requires players to “play against each other,” as opposed to playing against the “house,” which operates as a “bank.”
The agreement with the tribe also freed up $200 million in payments to the state, something lawmakers were eager to tap into, even though the deal took legislative leaders by surprise.
The complaint alleges that the Pensacola cardroom is operating a casino-type game, in which players are playing against a bank instead of each other.
Barry Richard, a lawyer who represents the Seminoles, said he met with Department of Business and Professional Regulation officials last week to discuss the settlement agreement.
“They informed us that they wanted us to know that they’ve already begun to enforce the law as Judge Hinkle interpreted,” Richard said in a telephone interview. “We have a high level of confidence they appear to be conscientiously and in good faith abiding by the settlement agreement and by Judge Hinkle’s decision.”
The settlement agreement focused on a portion of a 20-year gambling deal, called a “compact,” that expired in 2015. That portion of the deal gave exclusive rights to tribal casinos to operate banked card games, such as blackjack.
Under the 2010 deal, the tribe guaranteed $1 billion in payments to the state for the exclusive rights to offer the banked card games for five years.
The tribe sued the state when the agreement expired, accusing state gambling officials of breaching the compact by allowing improper designated-player games at horse and dog tracks and jai alai frontons.
Under Florida law, a “banking game” is defined as one “in which the house is a participant in the game, taking on players, paying winners, and collecting from losers or in which the cardroom establishes a bank against which participants play.”
Lawyers for the state argued that a player acting as the bank does not establish a bank within the meaning of the statute.
But Hinkle rejected that, writing that the second part of the definition describes a game banked by anyone, including a player.
“The essential feature of a ‘banked’ game is this: The bank pays the winners and collects from the losers,” he wrote.
In the November order, Hinkle focused in part on one cardroom’s requirement that potential designated players pass a background check and post a cash bond of $100,000 to act as the bank.
“The assertion that this game was just players competing against one another, without a ‘bank’ established by the facility, should have been a nonstarter. But the department assured the cardroom in writing that the game was compliant with Florida law. The assurance provided a ’safe harbor,’ protecting the facility from prosecution for conducting an illegal banked game,” Hinkle wrote.
The recent complaints did not specifically outline how the Pensacola games were illegal, but indicated that the “designated player” did not change, something referenced in Hinkle’s ruling.
The Pensacola Greyhound Track is owned by the Poarch Creek Indians of Atmore. A similar complaint has been filed against the Sarasota Kennel Club.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida with contributions by NorthEscambia.com
Wahoos Earn 400th Franchise Win
August 29, 2017
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos appear to have found a new closer with seven games left in the regular season. It is right hander Tanner Rainey whose fastball often breaks 100 mph.
Rainey earned his first Double-A save for the Blue Wahoos with his last three pitches all in triple digits as Pensacola snapped a four-game losing streak with a, 3-2, win Monday over the Mississippi Braves in front of 4,001 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
The 24-year-old Rainey in his last two relief appearances has struck out seven of the eight outs and walked one. For the Blue Wahoos he has 23 strikeouts in 14 innings over 11 appearances with a 1.93 ERA.
The former West Alabama first baseman, who holds that school’s home run record with 19, also singled in his first professional at bat.
Pensacola manager Pat Kelly was asked after the game if Rainey, in his third professional season, would be the Blue Wahoo’s closer.
“I think so,” Kelly said. “I liked what I saw. That’s impressive. He throws the ball hard and can swing the bat.”
The game also marked Pensacola starter Austin Ross looking back in form in his fifth start since spending a month on the DL with tightness in his throwing shoulder. He was limited to 14.2 innings over four starts but Monday the 28-year-old right hander cut loose with 93 pitches in 5.2 innings. He gave up two runs on seven hits and two walks with no strikeouts.
Ross is now 8-0 with a Southern League-leading 1.89 ERA.
“I’ve never been shut down during the year,” Ross said. “It was frustrating but at the same time it was the right thing to do. I knew I would have a decent amount of pitches. I wish I had gone deeper (than 5.2 innings.)”
Kelly also liked having the old Ross back in the rotation, especially with the playoffs approaching Sept. 6.
“This is the first time since he’s come back that he looked like he was his old self,” Kelly said.
Ross’s eighth win on the season was also Pensacola’s 400th win since its inaugural season in 2012. The club has 426 losses, posting winning records in only its last two seasons.
The Blue Wahoos first victory in franchise history occurred on opening day April 5, 2012 when they defeated the Montgomery Biscuits, 3-1. Pensacola third baseman Henry Alejandro Rodriguez, who drove in all three Blue Wahoos runs, smashed a two-run home run in the eighth inning off Montgomery reliever Frank De Los Santos for the victory. Pensacola reliever Justin Freeman earned the win and closer Donnie Joseph picked up the save.
“That’s cool,” Ross said. “It’s always good to be a part of something like that, especially with a class organization like Pensacola.”
To make a bid for the Southern League championship, Kelly said he needs other players to return to health like second baseman Shed Long, who is expected to start Tuesday after playing his last game Aug. 3.
Also third baseman Nick Senzel, the Cincinnati Reds top prospect, left the game Thursday after one at bat because he felt dizzy but he has yet to be cleared to play. Senzel had 10 home runs, 34 RBIs and a .340 batting average in half a season in Double-A.
Mississippi catcher Alex Jackson hit a bomb, his third homer for the Braves, to left field in the second inning to give the Braves a 1-0 lead.
Pensacola went ahead, 2-1, in the fourth inning. The first run scored with the bases loaded and one out when shortstop Blake Trahan hit a chopper to Mississippi third baseman Connor Joe, who dropped the ball, allowing first baseman Gavin LaValley to score. LaValley led off the fourth with a double, crushing a fly ball over the head of Mississippi center fielder Keith Curcio.
The second run in the fourth inning scored when Pensacola starting pitcher Austin Ross came up with the bases loaded and knocked in his third RBI of his career when center fielder Jonathan Reynoso scored. Ross hit a chopper that Braves first baseman Joey Meneses dove and caught and threw to second to get Trahan at second base for the second out of the inning.
Pensacola left fielder Gabriel Guerrero scored in the fifth inning when Aristides Aquino grounded out into a double play with the bases loaded and no outs to go ahead, 3-1.
Mississippi came back in the sixth inning when Jackson singled up the middle to drive in shortstop Dylan Moore to trail Pensacola, 3-2.
That’s when the Blue Wahoos turned to their bullpen. Zack Weiss threw 1.2 scoreless innings and didn’t allow a hit with walking one and striking out two. Then Rainey finished up the game.
The Blue Wahoos are guaranteed to be in the Southern League playoffs after winning the first half and are currently in fourth place at 29-34. The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are in first at 35-28 in the Southern Division, six games ahead of Pensacola.
Cantonment Man Arrested On Meth Charge
August 28, 2017
A Cantonment man was arrested on meth charges after a traffic stop .
An Escambia County deputy pulled over a Nissan Altima on Highway 29 at Kingsfield Road due to an improper sunscreen at the top of the windshield.
A records checked showed that 26-year old Garrett Thomas Renfrow’s driver’s license had was suspended. A K-9 unit responded and search Renfroe’s vehicle. During the search, deputies reporting finding a small clear bag with a substance that field test positive for methamphetamine.
Renfrow was charged with possession of methamphetamine and cited for the windshield sunscreen and driving with a suspended license.
He remained in the Escambia County Jail Monday morning with bond set at $5,000.
Working Nearly Complete On $1 Million Killam Road Paving Project
August 28, 2017
Work is nearing completion on a $1 million project to pave Killam Road near Century.
The project included the design and paving of Killam Road from Highway 4A to State Line Road at the Alabama/Florida state line and drainage upgrades to prevent roadway flooding. According to Escambia County, the project is 80 percent complete with an anticipate completion date of September by contractor Site and Utility.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Bonus Gallery: Tribal Beat Band, NHS Cheerleaders
August 28, 2017
For a bonus photo gallery of the Northview High School cheerleaders and Tribal Beat Band from Friday night, click here.
For a photo gallery of football action as Northview beat Blacksher, click here.
For a game recap story, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
FDOT: Weekly Traffic Alerts
August 28, 2017
Drivers will encounter traffic variations on the following state roads in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties as crews perform construction and maintenance activities. For the upcoming Labor Day Holiday there will be no lane closures on state roads beginning at 6 a.m. Friday, Sept 1 and ending at 12:01a.m.Tuesday, September 5.
Escambia County
· 9th Avenue Routine Maintenance at Keating Road/Dunmire Street- The northbound outside lane on 9th Avenue at Keating Road/Dunmire Street will be closed from 8 p.m. to midnight Friday, Aug. 25 as crews repair guardrail.
· State Road (S.R.) 10A(U.S. 98/Mobile Highway) Turn Lane Construction at Woodside Road Intersection- Woodside Road will be reduced one lane during daytime hours at the intersection of Mobile Highway Saturday, Aug. 26 and Sunday, Aug. 27 as crews perform utility relocation work in relation to the turn lane project. Traffic flaggers will be on site to direct traffic through the work zone.
· Gregory Street to I-110 northbound on ramp Bridge Painting– The shoulder of the Gregory Street to I-110 northbound on ramp will be restricted from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. through Friday, Sept. 1 as crews perform painting operations.
· Interstate 10 (I-10)/U.S. 29 Interchange Improvements Phase I- Drivers will encounter the following traffic impacts on I-10 near the U.S. 29 interchange (Exits 10A and 10B) from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 27 through Thursday, Aug. 31.
· Alternating east and westbound lane closures on I-10 and north and southbound on U.S. 29.
· Intermittent closure of the U.S. 29 south to I-10 eastbound ramp and the U.S. 29 north to I-10 eastbound ramp. Traffic will be detoured on U.S. 29 to access I-10 eastbound.
· Intermittent closure of the I-10 westbound to U.S. 29 south ramp (Exit 10A). Traffic will be detoured to Exit 10B.
· Alternating lane closures on I-10 westbound to U.S. 29 north ramp (Exit 10B)
· I-10 Widening from Davis Highway to the Escambia Bay Bridge- Alternating lane closures on I-10, between Davis Highway (Exit 13) and Scenic Highway (Exit 17), and on Scenic Highway near the I-10 interchange from 7 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 27 through Thursday, Aug. 31 as crews perform construction activities.
· U.S. 29 Widening from I-10 to Nine Mile Road- Drivers traveling U.S. 29 and Nine Mile Road will encounter traffic pattern changes from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. as crews perform drainage and bridge operations as follows:
· Nine Mile Road at the U.S. 29 overpass: Eastbound traffic will be shifted to the westbound, inside travel lane as crews prepare the area for construction of the support column for the new center bridge deck.
· U.S. 29 between I-10 and 9 1/2 Mile Road: Alternating lane closures continue as crews perform drainage operations.
· State Road (S.R.) 30 (U.S. 98) Pensacola Bay Bridge Replacement- Crews will be paving and performing drainage work this week. Drivers can expect alternating east and westbound lane closures on U.S. 98 (Bayfront Parkway) between 14th Avenue and the bridge from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday, Aug. 28 through Thursday, Aug. 31. On Tuesday, Aug. 29, U.S. 98 westbound lane closures will be in effect 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.
· S.R. 95 (Palafox Street) Underground Utility Work between Yonge Street and Moreno Street- Drivers can expect northbound lane restrictions between Yonge Street and Moreno Street from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday, Aug. 28 through Friday, Sept 1 as crews clean and video sewer lines.
· S.R. 742 (Creighton Road) Construction Improvement Project from east of Davis Highway to Scenic Highway– Sidewalk construction and Americans with Disabilities Act upgrades are ongoing. There will be intermittent and alternating lane closures from 8:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. between Davis Highway and Scenic Highway.
· Nine Mile Road (S.R. 10/U.S. 90A) Widening from Pine Forest Road to U.S. 29- Alternating lane closures continue on Untreiner Avenue as crews perform jack and bore operations.
Santa Rosa County
· U.S. 98 (S.R. 30) Pensacola Bay Bridge Replacement – Crews will be installing barrier wall and performing drainage work this week. Drivers can expect alternating east and westbound lane closures on U.S. 98 near the bridge in Gulf Breeze from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday, Aug. 28 through Thursday, Aug. 31. On Tuesday, Aug. 29, U.S. 98 westbound lane closures on U.S. 98 westbound will be in effect 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.
· I-10 Widening from Escambia Bay Bridge to Avalon Boulevard (Exit 22) – Widening along Interstate I-10, from the Escambia Bay Bridge to east of S.R. 281 (Avalon Boulevard) continues. Alternating lane closures will be in effect from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 27 through Thursday, Aug 31. Reconstruction of the Avalon Boulevard overpass is also ongoing. Drivers expect alternating lane closures on Avalon Boulevard, near the I-10 interchange.
· S.R. 87 Multilane from Eglin AFB Boundary to Hickory Hammock Road –Traffic between County Road 184 (Hickory Hammock Road) and the Eglin AFB boundary is restricted to loads under 11-feet wide. The restriction will be in place through the completion of the project.
Drivers are reminded to use caution, especially at night, when traveling through the construction zone, and to pay attention for workers and equipment entering and exiting the work area. All activities are weather dependent and may be delayed or rescheduled in the event of inclement weather.
Century To Hold Final Budget Workshop Wednesday
August 28, 2017
The Century Town Council will hold a final budget workshop Wednesday afternoon to set the town’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
It’s the third such meeting held this budget year by the council.
The fiscal year 2016-2017 budget in Century was $4.26 million.
NorthEscambia.com file photo,click to enlarge.
Wahoos Lose Fourth Straight
August 28, 2017
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos lost a 2-1 lead with two outs and a 0-2 count in the ninth inning on Mississippi Braves shortstop Dylan Moore. Moore blasted a two-run double into the gap to right center to put his team on top, 3-2.
Mississippi went on to score four runs in the inning and win, 5-2, Sunday in front of 4,669 at Blue Wahoos Stadium. It was the Blue Wahoos fourth straight loss.
Manager Pat Kelly said the Blue Wahoos would probably have to win their last eight games to have the slightest chance of winning a Southern League record five straight halves.
“We have two outs and two strikes and a chance to win the game and we can’t finish,” Kelly said. “Those are disappointing losses.”
Blue Wahoos starting pitcher Keury Mella looked like he had broken the jinx and finally earned his first win this season at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Mella looked dominant, tossing six scoreless innings, allowed just two hits, walked two and struck out seven Mississippi hitters.
Mella pitched to the minimum 12 batters through the first four innings, allowing just one hit. He loaded the bases with one out in the fifth inning but got Mississippi catcher Jonathan Morales to ground out into a double play to end the scoring threat. In the sixth, Mississippi again put runners at second and third with one out but Mella got a K and fly out to center field.
Coming into Sunday’s game, the 24-year-old Mella was 0-6 with a 5.16 ERA at home in 13 appearances. But over his last three starts, Mella has allowed just four earned runs in 18 innings for a 2.00 ERA and struck out 17. For the season, Mella is 3-10 with a 4.46 ERA.
Kelly said Mella has worked with Blue Wahoos pitching coach Danny Darwin on his delivery.
“He’s thrown good the last few games,” Kelly said. “He’s a lot more consistent. His slider is better and he’s throwing more strikes.”
But Mississippi went ahead, 3-2, on Moore’s two-run double off Pensacola closer Carlos Gonzalez. Braves third baseman Austin Riley then singled to right field to score Moore for a 4-2 lead. Riley scored on a Gonzalez wild pitch for the final margin of victory, 5-2.
Pensacola did take a 2-0 lead with both runs coming off Mike Soroka who is 11-8 with a 2.80 ERA for Mississippi.
Pensacola left fielder Gabriel Guerrero scored in the first inning of Sunday’s game on a single to center field by first baseman Gavin LaValley to take a 1-0 lead and to snap its streak of failing to score for 21 innings. The Blue Wahoos last scored against the Jackson Generals in the sixth inning Thursday.
It lost the first two games to the Mississippi Braves, 1-0, and, 5-0. The last time the Blue Wahoos were shutout in back-to-back games was in losses, 1-0, to both the Biloxi Shuckers and the Jackson Generals April 21 and 22 last season.
Pensacola scored its second run of the game in the sixth inning when shortstop Blake Trahan laid down a safety squeeze that scored center fielder Jonathan Reynoso from third to put the Blue Wahoos ahead, 2-0.
Trahan was 3-for-3 with one RBI in Sunday’s game and led off the ninth for the Blue Wahoos with a double into the left field corner. In two games against Mississippi, the shortstop is 5-7.
“To me that was a great accomplishment on the safety squeeze by Trahan,” Kelly said. “He’s swinging the bat good.”
Mississippi finally got on the scoreboard in the eighth inning when second baseman Travis Demeritte singled off Pensacola reliever Robert Stock to drive in Moore to pull the Braves within, 2-1. Moore led the Braves offense going 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBIs.
Pensacola won the first half guaranteeing the team a spot in the Southern Division playoffs. It was a Southern League record fourth straight half title, tying them with the Tennessee Smokies, which did it between 2009 and 2011.
In the second half, the Blue Wahoos are sitting in fourth place at 28-34 with eight games left this season. The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp lost to Biloxi 10-5 Sunday and are 35-27 in the Southern Division and in first place, seven games ahead of Pensacola.
Photos courtesy Barrett McClean Photography/Blue Wahoos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.