Maplesville Downs The Northview Chiefs (With Photo Gallery)
October 3, 2015
Alabama 1A powerhouse Maplesville shut out the Northview Chiefs 32-0 Friday night in Bratt.
“We just beat ourselves,” Northview head coach Sid Wheatley said after the loss. “Nobody likes to lose, obviously, but when you beat yourself, you are not giving yourself a chance. And in my opinion, we firmly beat ourselves tonight.”
The Chiefs suffered through multiple turnovers that pushed Maplesville to the red zone, after the Red Devils took the lead on their first possession.
A pass from Northview quarterback Gavin Grant was intercepted by the Red Devils for an 11-yard touchdown dash following a 57-yard Maplesville run.
“It could have been 14-7 at the end of the second quarter,” Wheatley said, “but, again, we beat ourselves.”
Instead, Maplesville held a 13-0 lead at the half. A Northview turnover in the third set up another Red Devil touchdown, and a Northview fumble led to another Red Devil TD.
And after another Northview turnover, the Red Devils scored again.
“I liked the effort; I just did not like the execution,” Wheatley said. “We didn’t finish them off when we had those opportunities.”
Next week, it’s back to the basics for the Chiefs. “We’ve got to make sure we can take care of the football and have great ball security.”
The Chiefs will be back in Bratt next Friday night as they host Liberty county for the Chiefs’ homecoming.
NorthEscambia.com photos, with additional gallery photos by Gary Amerson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Forest Service, Fire Departments Watching Island Fire On Escambia River
October 3, 2015
Firefighters from the Florida Forest Service responded to reports of a wildfire in western Santa Rosa County along the shores of the Escambia River Friday afternoon. The fire was contained to a small parcel of land in the Escambia River marsh but crews cannot make access and will monitor it throughout the weekend.
The fire is in the area known as Noriegas Island and is surrounded by water. Aerial estimates put the island at about 10 acres and a fire size at less than 1 acre late Friday afternoon.
Smoke may persist throughout the evening and into the night and could impact U.S. 90. Drivers are urged to use caution if they encounter smoke on the roads and treat as if they were driving in fog. Motorists should turn on their low beam headlights or pull safely off the road until conditions improve.
Cantonment Man Charged With Burglary, Vehicle Theft
October 3, 2015
A Cantonment man is behind bars, charged with a burglary and a vehicle theft.
Sundown West Brown, 21, was charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle, burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, grand theft and criminal mischief. He was also cited for operating a motor vehicle without a license. Brown was also arrested on outstanding Pensacola Police Department warrants for burglary of an unoccupied dwelling and grand theft. He remained in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $91,000
Brown was implicated in a September burglary at a home in the 1800 block of Bradley Avenue in Cantonment in which and iPad a nd cash were taken.
Deputies spotted Brown driving 1998 Ford Explorer that had previously been reported stolen from Etta Street.
Baker Gators Top Jay (With Photo Gallery)
October 3, 2015
The Jay Royals opened district play Friday night with a 48-26 loss to the Baker Gators.
Next week, the Royals will host Cottondale.
Photos by Michele Gibbs for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
UF Celebrates 50 Years Of Gatorade
October 3, 2015
The research question posed to University of Florida professor J. Robert Cade, M.D., and his research fellows in 1965 was a simple one: Why were so many Gator football players getting sick in the unrelenting Florida heat?
“That question changed our lives,” Cade would later tell reporters, because the answer led him and his team to develop an innovative product that forever changed athletic performance, launched a new industry, helped people suffering from dehydration and sparked a legacy of innovation that persists at UF today — Gatorade.
This year marks 50 years since Cade and his team — Dana Shires, M.D.; Jim Free, M.D.; and Alejandro de Quesada, M.D. — concocted the mixture of water, electrolytes and lemon juice that ultimately became UF’s most famous invention.
At the time Gatorade was invented, the researchers’ goal was simply to develop something to help the Gator football team stay hydrated in the heat.
“Several football players were in the emergency room because of heat stroke,” said de Quesada, who noted that Gatorade was a side project for the team, which at the time was more focused on the bourgeoning use of hemodialysis and kidney transplantation. “The concept at the time was that if you were engaged in strenuous exercise, you could not drink water because it caused vomiting. The idea was if you create a solution and give it to the players, they would be hydrated much faster.
“We came up with a solution that could be absorbed quickly. It was very simple.”
With the permission of then-UF coach Ray Graves, the researchers tested the beverage on the Gators’ “B” team. Although the taste took some time to be perfected, the results of the fledgling sports drink were promising and seemed to help the team on the field. By 1966, the Gators had an 8-2 regular season record and had won the Orange Bowl for the first time, and many thought Gatorade played a role in that success. The Florida Times-Union famously wrote “One Lil’ Swig of That Kickapoo Juice and Biff, Bam, Sock — It’s Gators, 8-2.”
Today, Gatorade, now owned by PepsiCo, is the official sports drink of the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball and more. Within UF, the invention of Gatorade has cultivated another lasting legacy — a culture of innovation. The example set by Gatorade’s inventors has influenced generations of Gator researchers to be persistent in their pursuit of discovery and to aim big.
“What Bob Cade did for the university was make everyone else realize that someone working quietly on something interesting and relevant to them could make a difference,” said Nikolaus Gravenstein, M.D., the Jerome H. Modell, M.D., professor of anesthesiology in the UF College of Medicine. “You could be in any discipline and make a difference.
“It is one of our reasons our UF Office of Technology and Licensing is the size it is, because there are so many people who say ‘I can do that, too.’”
Mark Segal, M.D., Ph.D., the J. Robert Cade professor of medicine and division chief of nephrology, hypertension and renal transplantation in the College of Medicine, said Cade’s work has influenced many in his division.
“I truly believe this division is innovative, and that innovation has its origins with Dr. Cade,” Segal said. “He never accepted the status quo. We shouldn’t accept the status quo, either.”
Royalties from Gatorade also have funded more than $250 million in research projects across the university and notably within the College of Medicine, where Cade was a faculty member in the department of medicine division of nephrology, hypertension and renal transplantation until his death in 2007.
In 2014, UF Health researcher Michael Lauzardo, M.D., received $200,000 from the Gatorade Trust to open a tuberculosis lab in Gressier, Haiti. Haiti has the worst rate of tuberculosis infection in the western hemisphere. At the lab, UF researchers are performing rapid diagnostic tests to more quickly diagnose patients, training Haitian lab technicians to perform these tests and conducting research to answer crucial questions related to the transmission of the disease and why some strains have become resistant to well-known treatments.
“We want to move research forward and address how to best provide drug-resistant TB therapy in a difficult environment, how to best get specimens to a lab, and how to get people who live in remote areas complicated lifesaving therapy. This is an area where Haiti can be a leader,” said Lauzardo, director of the Southeastern National Tuberculosis Center, chief of the UF division of infectious diseases and global medicine and a member of the Emerging Pathogens Institute. “Gatorade’s funding has helped us do something novel and unique and efficient that moves research forward.”
Gatorade royalties have funded many pilot projects throughout UF, helping researchers get their work off the ground or establish labs. One such project that has come to full fruition is the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, which received a $30,000 grant from Gatorade to assist with its opening in 1974. Although the grant was small, the seed funding has paid off in big ways. Researchers at the Whitney Lab, located by the Atlantic Ocean in St. Augustine, Florida, specialize in understanding marine creatures to benefit human health.
For example, in 2014, Whitney researcher Leonid Moroz, Ph.D., became the first scientist to conduct genome sequencing of fragile marine creatures, such as rare comb jellies, in real time while aboard a ship. Because of their delicate bodies, these creatures cannot be safely shipped to the lab, so the researchers brought the lab to them. The research could lead to better understanding of the mechanisms at work in these creatures and could lead to new drug discoveries.
Gatorade’s influence also has spawned numerous discoveries at UF benefiting sports medicine. Gravenstein and his team developed air-cooled football pads to combat heat illness in athletes. The technology is now used in the NFL. Other UF researchers such as Jay Clugston, M.D., in the College of Medicine, are studying ways to prevent and reduce concussions in athletes.
“(Gatorade) infected people with the spirit of discovery,” Gravenstein said. “I am convinced the best is yet to come.”
For de Quesada, looking back on the invention he, Cade, Shires and Free devised five decades ago, what makes him the most proud is Gatorade’s use off the field, helping children recover from dehydration caused by vomiting and diarrhea.
“Babies, used to die because of severe diarrhea and vomiting. There was little they could do. With the use of Gatorade, that problem was solved,” he said. “We never claimed that Gatorade is a medication. But it can be used to hydrate people who need hydration for medical reasons. That is one of the great satisfactions I have, is how many lives it has saved.”
Jay Peanut Festival Set For This This Weekend
October 2, 2015
The annual Jay Peanut Festival is this weekend.
For more than 20 years, The Jay Peanut Festival at the Gabbert Farm has been a fall tradition on the Gulf Coast, showcasing the history, agriculture, food and fun of Santa Rosa County. What started as a chance for local kids and farmers to show off their best of the season has become an annual event covering 15 acres and drawing about 70,000 people to the Gabbert farm over two days.
“I describe it to people as being like an old-fashioned county fair, without the carnival rides,” said Brenda Gabbert, who has coordinated the festival with her husband, Gene, for over 25 years.
“It’s all about farming and rural life. That’s what we try to show people,” she said. “It’s good for the whole family. There is something for everybody. We really cater to the kids.”
The event includes the 1930s Farm Museum, food booths, dozens of arts and crafts vendors, pony rides, games and fun. The Jay Peanut Festival is also a chance to try all varieties of peanuts – boiled, green, fried, candied and more.
Admission is free, 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The Gabbert farm is located at 3604 Pine Level Road.
NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Santa Rosa Man Fires At Deputies
October 2, 2015
Shots were fired at deputies in Santa Rosa county Thursday afternoon.
Deputies responded to the 5800 block of Pebble Ridge Drive after a man threatened to kill himself. When they arrived, the man opened fire with a 45 caliber handgun toward the deputies. They were able to talk him into a peaceful surrender with no injuries.
Alan Patterson, 55, was taken into custody and booked into the Santa Rosa County Jail.
David Stafford Seeks Fourth Term As Elections Boss
October 2, 2015
Incumbent David Stafford prefiled Thursday for his fourth term as Escambia County Supervisor of Elections. Stafford, a Republican, was first elected to the position in 2004 No other candidate has prefiled to date for the position. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.co, click to enlarge.
Health Start Family Fun Day Saturday In Century
October 2, 2015
The Escambia County Healthy Start Coalition and Abundant Life Day Care will hold their first annual Family Fun Day Saturday from 10 a.m. until noon.
The free event will take place from 10 a.m. until noon at the Abundant Life Assembly of God at 8040 North Century Boulevard. The even will include family fun, games, hands-on demonstrations, and educational activities. Hots dogs and snacks will be provided.
Escambia Man Gets Prison For Shooting Death Of Football Standout
October 2, 2015
An Escambia County man has been sentenced to prison for the fatal shooting of a football standout.
Xavier Tyrone Moore was sentenced by Circuit Judge Linda Nobles to 25 years in state prison as a habitual felony offender for third degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Moore was convicted on July 21, 2015 by an Escambia County jury.
The charges stemmed from the June 13, 2014, shooting death of Shaquille Purifoy. While Moore was sitting on the trunk of a car off of Country Walk Drive, he had a loaded .38 caliber Derringer pistol in his lap. When he got up from the trunk of the car, the pistol fell on the ground and discharged one time. The one shot struck Purifoy in the head, a fatal wound.
Moore’s prior record includes robbery, possession of a firearm by convicted felon, felony battery and multiple drug offenses. Based on the charges and his prior record, Moore faced up to 60 years in state prison.
Purifoy was on the basketball and football teams at Pine Forest High School and went on to play football for Grambling State University.