JV Football: Baker Tops Northview
September 28, 2018
The junior varsity Baker Gators defeated the Northview JV Chiefs Thursday night at Tommy Weaver Memorial Stadium in Bratt.
The Gators held a 14-0 lead headed into halftime and a scoreless second half.
The Chiefs drove to a first down on the Gators’ 20-yard line with just 19 seconds to go in the game. The continued drive for the end zone ended on the 3-yard line as time ran out.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Woman Cited For Crash With School Bus
September 27, 2018
A Pensacola woman was cited after colliding with a school bus on Nine Mile Road.
Jennifer Stiles, 39, was traveling west on Nine Mile Road in a no passing zone near Milestone Boulevard Wednesday afternoon. The Florida Highway Patrol reported she attempted to pass a school bus as the bus made a left-hand turn.
One student and one assistant were the only passengers on the bus. There were no injuries reported.
Stiles was ticketed for driving on the left side in a no passing zone.
Driver Charged With DUI Manslaughter In Crash That Killed Two
September 27, 2018
An Escambia County man free on bond on a DUI charge has been charged with the death of two people killed in crash early Thursday morning not far from Walmart in Ensley.
Jamie Ty Hamrick, 28, was charged with two counts of DUI manslaughter and driving with a suspended license in crash resulting in death. He is being held in the Escambia County Jail without bond.
The Florida Highway Patrol said Hamrick of Pensacola was driving south on North Palafox Street at Sharmon Street when his Honda Civic that ran off the road, collided with a ditch, became airborne, hit a fence and overturned into a a tree about 2:50 a.m.
La’Phontae DeWayne Lewis, 25, and Antion Wade Lindsay, 32, were ejected from the vehicle and pronounced deceased. Hamrick was not injured.
According to jail records, Hamrick was arrested on an unrelated DUI charge five days ago and released on a $1,000 bond.
College Softball, Baseball Games Coming To Century
September 27, 2018
College softball and baseball exhibition games are coming to Century next month.
Pensacola State College will face Coastal Alabama Community College in the “Century Classic” on Saturday, October 20 at Showalter Park.
The softball matchup will begin with pregame activities at 10:30 a.m. with an 11 a.m. game time. Pregame activities for the PSC vs. Coastal Alabama baseball game will follow the softball game at about 12:30 p.m., with first pitch at about 1 p.m.
General admission is $5, and admission for children 8-12 and PSC faculty is $2. Admission for children 8 is free. PSC students will be admitted free with a student ID, and baseball and softball players in grades 1-12 will be admitted free if they are wearing their uniform jersey.
Admission proceeds will benefit the Buck Showalter Scholarship fund for GED students from the Century area.
ECSO Seizes Drugs, Cash, And Stolen Gun; Makes Arrest
September 27, 2018
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man after finding drugs, a stolen gun and cash during a search.
Deputies executed a search warrant on Flagler Driver, near I-10 and Highway 29. Inside the home deputies found 28.5 grams of ecstasy, 393 grams of synthetic marijuana, 1,479 Xanax pills, 31 oxycodone pills, 25.3 grams of cocaine, nearly eight pounds of marijuana, a stolen 9mm hand gun and $2,800 in cash.
Brad Tamarcus Tucker was arrested for trafficking in MDMA, trafficking in synthetic cannabinoids, possession of cocaine with intent to sell/manufacture/deliver within 1000 feet of a school, possession of oxycodone with intent within 1,000 feet of a school, possession of marijuana with intent within 1,000 feet of a school, possession of alprazolam with intent within 1,000 feet of a school, possession of firearm by a convicted felon, keeping a public nuisance structure and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Tucker was released from the Escambia County Jail Thursday on a $151,500 bond.
Library Offering ‘Incredibles’ Library Cards
September 27, 2018
Only a few days remain to get a special edition “Incredibles” library card from the West Florida Public Libraries to celebrate Library Card Sign-up Month.
The special edition card features Disney-Pixar’s superhero family the Incredibles, who are the honorary chairs of Library Card Sign-up Month.
While library cards are always free for Escambia County residents, the usual $3 replacement fee for lost or damaged cards will be waived during the month of September, as part of the celebration. Escambia County residents can find information about getting a library card or sign up at mywfpl.com/borrow/card.
Library Card Sign-up Month ends Sunday (but note all library locations are closed on Sundays except the main library downtown).
Voter Registration Deadline Nears
September 27, 2018
The voter registration deadline for the general election is fast approaching.
Tuesday, October 9 is the last day to register to vote on November 6.
Florida law mandates that registration books close 29 days before an election, however, due to the Columbus Day holiday voters are getting an extra day. New registrations must be completed and received or postmarked no later than October 9 to be effective for the November 6 election. Address changes can be made after the books close.
To check voter registration status or to register to vote, visit EscambiaVotes.com
Northview Sets Homecoming Parade; Entries Now Accepted
September 27, 2018
The annual Northview High School Homecoming Parade has been set for Friday, October 5.
The parade will line up at 12:30 p.m. and travel from Bratt Elementary School to Northview High. Entries are being accepted now; there is no cost to enter. For a printable entry form, click here. Entries are due by October 1.
A homecoming meal to support the Tommy Weaver Memorial Scholarship Fund will be sold for $7. Meals will be served after 10 a.m. on October 5 and will include a barbecue sandwich, chips, dessert and a drink.
Contact Perry Byars at (850) 327-6681 ext. 248 or email pbyars@escambia.k12.fl.us for more information or to reserve homecoming meals.
The Northview Chief’s homecoming game will kickoff at 7 p.m. on October 5 against the Jay Royals.
Pictured: The 2017 Northview High Homecoming Parade in Bratt. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Atmore YMCA Set To Close Permanently
September 27, 2018
The Atmore YMCA will permanently cease operations and close on November 30.
“This is a very difficult time for everyone associated with our Y,” said Robert Heard, chairman of the YMCA’s board of directors. “In recent years, we instituted a number of changes that improved our YMCA’s efficiency and effectiveness in meeting community needs. Unfortunately, we have not been able to generate financial resources necessary to sustain operations over the long term.”
The Atmore YMCA has served Atmore and surrounding areas since June 1995, but fundraising and membership efforts have not been enough to keep the facility open.
“Our YMCA has had the privilege of serving the children, families and communities of Atmore for 23 years,” Heard said. “We are grateful for the support we have received from our members, participants, volunteers, and donors. The board also wants to thank Paul Chason and his staff team. They have done everything in their power, against long odds, to keep our YMCA going. We deeply regret that closing down will affect so many wonderful people.”
Two full time and nine part-time employees will lose their jobs.
The Atmore YMCA announced a closure in 2014, but an influx of community funding kept the doors open.
The YMCA currently has over 600 members.
Pictured top: The Atmore Area YMCA building. NorthEscambia.com file photo.
State Argues Against Anonymity In Gun Law Challenge
September 27, 2018
Pointing to a “strong presumption in favor of open judicial proceedings,” Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office is asking a federal appeals court to reject arguments that two 19-year-olds should be able to remain anonymous in a challenge to a new state gun law.
Bondi’s office filed a 54-page brief urging the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a district judge’s ruling that the teens — identified as Jane Doe and John Doe — should not be able to keep their identities secret if they take part in a lawsuit filed by the National Rifle Association against the state.
The lawsuit challenges a law passed in March that increases the minimum age from 18 to 21 to buy rifles and other long guns in Florida. The Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott approved the change after the Feb. 14 mass shooting that killed 17 people at Broward County’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
In the brief, state Solicitor General Amit Agarwal and two of his deputies cited a federal court rule about requiring parties to be named in lawsuits. They also took issue with the NRA’s arguments that the teens should be able to remain anonymous because they could face threats and harassment for participating in the case.
“Plaintiffs do not point to any specific facts that establish a ‘real danger of physical harm,’ ” the state’s attorneys wrote, partially quoting another case. “The more general risk that litigants who carry the torch for controversial causes will be illegally threatened or harassed by ideological antagonists should be taken seriously; but the proper solution to that problem is to vigorously enforce existing laws prohibiting such misconduct, not to ignore the ‘clear mandate’ of (the federal court rule) and thereby abridge the rights of the press, the public, and other parties to the litigation.”
But in a June brief, attorneys for the NRA, Jane Doe and John Doe pointed to concerns about the safety of the teens.
“Jane Doe and John Doe, two 19-year-old Florida citizens, seek to participate in this lawsuit challenging Florida’s age-based ban on the purchase of firearms anonymously, based on the reasonable, documented fear that they would suffer harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence if their true identities and participation in this controversial litigation were made public,” the June brief said. “Under the standard for pseudonymous pleading established by this court’s precedents, Jane and John Doe should clearly be allowed to remain anonymous.”
The NRA filed the underlying lawsuit March 9, shortly after Scott signed a wide-ranging piece of legislation that included raising the minimum age for gun purchases. The lawsuit does not challenge other parts of the legislation, which was designed to bolster school safety in the aftermath of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shootings.
The NRA later filed a motion to add Jane Doe, an Alachua County resident, as a plaintiff to the lawsuit. It also has sought to add to the case allegations related to John Doe.
As part of its case, the NRA has cited threatening and often-vile emails received by longtime NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer. But U.S. District Judge Mark Walker in May rejected the request to allow anonymity for Jane Doe and John Doe, though he expressed sympathy for their concerns.
Based on precedent, “this court finds that mere evidence of threats and harassment made online is insufficient to outweigh the customary and constitutionally-embedded presumption of openness in judicial proceedings,” Walker wrote. “This is especially true where the targets of such threats and harassment are not minors and where the subject at issue does not involve matters of utmost intimacy.”