BayBears Beat Wahoos
May 21, 2017
Two top pitching prospects went head-to-head and delivered the sellout Pensacola Blue Wahoos crowd exactly what they should have expected — a tight, low-scoring game.
Blue Wahoos starter Louis Castillo, the Cincinnati Reds No. 7 prospect, and Mobile BayBears starter Grayson Long, the Los Angeles Angels No. 6 prospect, dueled to a 1-0 Mobile lead at the end of seven innings.
The rain that sporadically came down during the game, poured down in the top of the ninth inning with Mobile ahead, 2-0, a runner on first base and two outs. The umpires called the game, giving Mobile a 2-0 victory after a 51 minute delay. Pensacola leads the series, 2-1.
Castillo retired 11 of 12 batters after giving up a run in the first inning to Mobile and worked out of a bases-loaded jam when he allowed three straight singles in the fifth inning after getting the first two batters out.
The 24-year-old Dominican threw 103 pitches over seven innings, giving up one run on six hits and allowing no walks. He finished his ninth start of the year with his fifth strike out of the game and pumped his fist and looked to the sky.
Meanwhile, Long retired the first eight batters of the game until Pensacola catcher Joe Hudson doubled into the right field corner in the third inning. Long gave up one other hit when shortstop Blake Trahan singled to centerfield.
Long had Pensacola base runners on first and second base in the fourth and fifth innings but escaped both innings unscathed. He threw five scoreless innings and now has not allowed a run in his two starts against Pensacola over 11 innings and given up just three hits this season. The 22-year-old Long walked three and struck out five Saturday.
Long, who made his Double-A debut against the Blue Wahoos on April 24, picked up the win, improving to 2-2 with a 2.61 ERA. Pensacola righty Castillo dropped to 1-3 with a 2.82 ERA.
Mobile scored on Castillo when BayBears leadoff hitter Zach Gibbons, who doubled and moved to third on a bunt, scored on a sacrifice fly to right field by second baseman David Fletcher. Pensacola right fielder Aristides Aquino threw a one hopper to the plate but Gibbons slid under the tag for a, 1-0, Mobile lead.
Mobile loaded the bases in the fifth inning with two outs but Castillo struck out Mobile left fielder Michael Hermosillo to end the scoring threat.
Pensacola dropped to 24-19 on the season. They are tied for first place in the Southern League South Division with the Biloxi Shuckers, which won, 2-0, over the Chattanooga Lookouts when rain ended that that game after five innings.
Escambia County Area Housing Commission Seeks Volunteer Members
May 21, 2017
The Escambia County Board of County Commissioners is seeking Escambia County residents interested in volunteering to be considered for an appointment to the Area Housing Commission.
Escambia County residents interested in serving on the Area Housing Commission are asked to submit a resume and letter indicating their desire to serve by the close of business on Thursday, May 25. Resumes should be submitted to Judy Witterstaeter, Program Coordinator, Board of County Commissioners, P.O. Box 1591, Pensacola, Florida 32502 or emailed to jhwitter@myescambia.com.
Resumes submitted to a BCC agenda for consideration will become part of the official minutes and are subject to public records requests.
The Area Housing Commission, or AHC, is a public body created to provide decent, safe, sanitary and economical housing to low- and moderate-income families in Escambia County, and has countywide jurisdiction with the exception of the town of Century. The AHC’s governing body is a board of commissioners consisting of five appointees. Two are appointed by the Pensacola City Council, two by the Escambia County Commissioners and the fifth member is appointed by the other four. The term of service is four years.
The AHC has 12 regular meetings per year and three to four special meetings per year. They meet every fourth Wednesday of the month for 2 to 2 ½ hours. Board members travel to Orlando once a year to attend meetings. According to the bylaws, the board of commissioners has general supervision direction, and control over the business and affairs of the AHC, subject to applicable federal and state laws.
Same-Day Renewal Concealed Weapon Licenses Available In Escambia County
May 20, 2017
Escambia County Tax Collector Scott Lunsford has announced that local residents renewing their concealed weapon license now will be able to receive their renewed card the same day upon successful submission of their application.
“We are excited to offer this additional service to our citizens,” Lunsford said. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) and providing our residents a convenient and efficient way to obtain and renew concealed weapon licneses.”
While renewal licenses will be printed in the office, new applications still will be submitted to the FDACS for final approval. The statutory turnaround time for this process is within 90 days. Licensees who are not Florida residents or who need to submit documentation of a name change will not be eligible to receive a renewal license on site. The applications still can be submitted through our office, but FDACS will print and mail the new license.
Lunsford’s Warrington office, 4051 Barrancas Avenue, Suite A, provides concealed weapon licensing services. Appointments for concealed weapon license applications and renewals can be made at https://kiosk.qless.com/kiosk/app/home/17016 or by visiting EscambiaTaxCollector.com.
Highway 168 Bridge Closed After Failed Inspection
May 20, 2017
A North Escambia bridge is closed after failing an inspection Thursday.
The bridge over Reedy Creek on Highway 168 near Wawbeek Road will be closed until further notice for repairs. Drivers can detour on Highway 4 via Raines Road to the east and North Highway 99 to the west.
Escambia County received notice from the Florida Department of Transportation on Thursday, May 18 that the bridge near Bratt needed repairs before it can be reopened:
A completion date for repairs is not known as the closure notice was just received by the county.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Winner Claims $60K Prize For North Escambia Lottery Ticket
May 20, 2017
The owner of a winning ticket sold Sunday at a Highway 97 lottery store has claimed his prize.
The Florida Lottery says the May 14 Fantasy 5 ticket worth $$60,365.68 was sold to Allen B. Lamb of Chickasaw, AL. He purchased the ticket at the State Line Gift Shop, 11208 Highway 97. It was one of three winning tickets sold for Sunday night’s drawing worth $60,365.68. Other winning tickets matching all five numbers were sold in Orlando and Miramar.
The ticket was the fourth winning Fantasy Five ticket sold in just over a year at the State Line Gift Shop.
The 446 tickets matching four numbers won $65 each. Another 10,764 tickets matching three numbers are worth $7.50 each, and 89,179 ticket holders won a Quick Pick ticket for picking two numbers. May 14’s winning numbers were 1-5-9-10-16.
Pictured: The State Line Gift Shop on Highwy 97 in Davisville. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Byrneville Student Waters Named ‘Magic’ Student of The Month
May 20, 2017
Byrneville Elementary School fifth grade student Leif Waters was recently named the Magic 106.1 FM Student of the Month. He received a brand new bicycle and a certification of congratulations from the Magic crew and NFL Super Bowl champion Fred Robbins. He was nominated by his teacher Jacke Johnston.
“This child has come so far over the years, and it has been amazing to see his growth and to see how much his peers love him. We all love him,” teacher Jacke Johnston said.
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Weekend Gardening: Tips For The Month Of May
May 20, 2017
The Escambia County Master Gardeners offer the following May lawn and garden tips:
- Continue planting summer annuals. Try one or two that you’ve never grown and/or one that is not available in stores as transplants.
- Plant heat-resistant summer flowering annuals such as begonias, impatiens, coleus, salvia, marigolds, torenia, verbena, ornamental peppers and gaillardia.
- Bulbs: Caladium, gladiolus.
- Vegetables: Continue planting warm weather seeds and transplants (Shade those transplants!). Use transplants for cherry tomatoes, eggplant and sweet potatoes. Plant seeds of lima beans, okra, southern peas: purple hull, crowder, etc.
- Prune and shape spring flowering shrubs and trees now. Later pruning may destroy next year’s blooms.
- Good cultural practices help maintain a healthy lawn and discourage insects and disease. Mow with a sharp blade. Centipedegrass should be cut to a height of 1½ to 2 inches. St. Augustinegrass normal growth habit cultivars should be cut to a height of 3 to 4 inches.
- Climbing roses are pruned after they finish blooming. Blooms form on one-year-old canes, so any older ones may be removed to make them more tidy. Cut each flowering stem back to the first five leaflet stem to encourage them to bloom again.Spray with horticultural oil or malathion for mites, scale and white flies, if insects are present, before it gets too hot (85 degrees).
- Yellow leaves on azaleas may mean they need iron. Apply iron sulphate or chelated iron.
- Feed citrus plants using special citrus fertilizer. Broadcast under the tree canopy and water in.
- Begin planting palms while the weather is warm and rainy.
- Make cuttings of azaleas, hollies, camellias, and other choice shrubs as new growth becomes half hardened.
- Take soft wood cuttings to root: alyssum, begonia, chrysanthemum, shrimp plant, dianthus, geranium, hibiscus, hydrangea, etc.
- Dig bulbs after foliage turns brown if they need to be divided or the space is needed for other plants. If the space isn’t needed, braid the foliage.
- Cut back the vines of Irish potatoes when they begin to die but leave the tubers in the ground for about two weeks longer to toughen the skin. Handle the potatoes carefully during digging, as skinned or bruised potatoes decay quickly when stored.
- Divide crowded and vigorously growing perennials.
- Promote continued flowering of bedding plants by removing faded blooms.
- Encourage coleus to branch and produce more colorful leaves by pinching off the flower stalks as they form.
- Prune poinsettias when new growth is 10-12 inches high (back to the last four leaves). Prune new growth at the base throughout the summer.
- Stop pruning after Labor Day.
- Keep roses watered, cut out weak spots, feed every six to eight weeks or at every new flush of growth, dust.
- For insect or disease problems in your garden, use the least toxic control possible.
National Technical Honor Society Honors Tate Senior
May 20, 2017
The National Technical Honor Society has selected Tate High School senior Kayla Johnson to receive one of only 225 scholarships they are awarding across the country.
J
ohnson was recently awarded a $1000 scholarship from the National Technical Honor Society. In addition to her involvement with NTHS, Kayla has excelled at HOSA competitions for EMT and Sports Medicine, which took her to the state level competition.
She is an active member of the Tate chorus and she has completed four years of the Biomedical Sciences Academy, including over 200 hours of volunteer service at West Florida Hospital. She also obtained two industry certifications for Patient Care Technician and Medical Administrative Assistant. Her future plans are to become an EMT, while continuing her education to become an RN.
NTHS is the leader in recognizing student achievement in career and technical education. More than 4200 schools and colleges are affiliated with the Society.
Unemployment Rate Dropping
May 20, 2017
The latest job numbers released Friday show the employment rate decreasing in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
Escambia County’s seasonably adjusted unemployment rate decreased from 4.3 percent in March to 3.9 percent in April. There were 5,643 people reported unemployed during the period. One year ago, unemployment in Escambia County was 4.7 percent.
“The creation of more than 3,500 jobs by businesses in the Pensacola area is great news for families in Northwest Florida. We have been laser focused on making Florida the most business-friendly state in the nation and we will continue to fight every day to grow our economy and market our state as the best place to create new jobs and opportunities.”
The industries with the largest job gains in Pensacola over the year were leisure and hospitality with 1,500 new jobs and trade, transportation and utilities with 1,200 new jobs. The Pensacola area had 5,089 job openings in April, including 1,440 openings for high-skill, high-wage STEM occupations.
Santa Rosa County unemployment rate fell from 4.0 percent in March to 3.7 percent in April. Santa Rosa County had a total of 2,835 persons still unemployed. The year-ago unemployment rate in Santa Rosa County was 4.2 percent.
Florida’s jobless rate for April stood at 4.5 percent, down 0.3 percentage points from March, according to the state Department of Economic Opportunity. The figures estimate there were 460,000 jobless Floridians in April — 25,000 fewer than a month earlier — out of a workforce that has grown over the past year by 371,000 to 10.14 million. But while pointing to the private sector growing by 15,000 jobs during the past month, Scott repeated his criticism of legislative decisions to reduce funding for tourism-marketer Visit Florida and to reject spending on business incentives through Enterprise Florida.
The jobless numbers released by the state do not include persons that have given up on finding a job and are no longer reported as unemployed.
The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.
Pensacola Blue Wahoos Top The Mobile BayBears 3-2
May 20, 2017
Pensacola’s pitching staff has lead the Southern League all season and tonight’s game was no different for the Blue Wahoos. The bullpen held the Mobile BayBears to only one hit in 4.1 innings of work as the Pensacola Blue Wahoos won 3-2 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
After a quiet start of the game from both teams, the Blue Wahoos offense came to life in the bottom of the second. Right fielder Aristides Aquino started the inning with a walk and scored after a double by designated hitter Eric Jagielo.
Mobile’s starting pitcher, Alex Blackford, allowed Jagielo to advance to third on a wild pitch, his first of the year. Shortstop Blake Trahan brought home Jagielo on a single right up the middle to give the Blue Wahoos a 2-0 lead.
With two outs in the inning, catcher Adrian Nieto knocked in a double to right-center to bring home Trahan for the Blue Wahoos final run of the game. The Pensacola bats stayed hitless the reminder of the night as the Pensacola bullpen took control of the last half of the game.
Starter Austin Ross pitched a season low 4.2 innings giving up seven hits and two runs along with four walks and four strikeouts. RHP Domingo Tapia took the mound with the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth inning and forces Mobile’s Alberto Triunfel into a groundout.
Tapia went on to pitch 2.1 hitless innings, walking only one and striking out three to earn his second win of the season.
RHP Jimmy Herget secured his 11th save of the season with 2.0 innings of solid work giving up only one hit and one strikeout.