No Serious Injuries In Cottage Hill Crash
August 10, 2015
There were no serious injuries in a two vehicle crash Monday afternoon near Cottage Hill. The accident was reported about 5:40 p.m. on Highway 95A near Stacey Road. The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Price, click to enlarge.
Police: Man Found Dead At Confederate Monument Was Murdered
August 10, 2015
A man found dead on a park bench in Pensacola was murdered, according to the Pensacola Police Department.
The body of 50-year old Larson Ogwin Brake, Jr. was found by a passerby about 9:30 Sunday morning at the foot of the Confederate monument in Lee Square, in the 600 block of North Palafox Street near the First Baptist Church of Pensacola.
PPD Detectives have determined that the homeless man’s death was not racially motivated, according to Capt. Paul Kelly.
Kelly said said detectives are pursuing leads in the case. An autopsy will be done to determine cause of death.
Anyone having information on the incident is asked to contact the Pensacola Police Department at (850) 435-1900 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Walnut Hill Man Charged With Underwear Theft
August 10, 2015
A Walnut Hill man with a history of shoplifting arrests is facing a felony charge for allegedly stealing a 32-gallon tote full of underwear.
Michael Alan Flowers, 52, was charged with petit theft from a merchant third or subsequent offense.
He allegedly filled a 32-gallon plastic tote with 11 packs of socks, four packs of underwear and six packs of undershirts at Walmart on Creighton Road. Loss prevention employees watched he Flowers pushed a shopping cart with the tote out of the store, according to a Pensacola Police Department arrest report.
According to the report, Flowers has at least eight previous shoplifting convictions on his record. Flowers remained in the Escambia County Jail Monday with bond set at $1,000.
Get Your Child Vaccinated: Same Day Appointments In Ensley, Molino
August 10, 2015
The Florida Department of Health in Escambia County is making it a bit easier for parents to get their children vaccinated for school with same-day appointments available each day this week in Molino and Ensley. Children entering Escambia County schools next month must be up-to-date on their vaccinations, including a tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (Tdap) vaccine for all students entering the seventh grade.
Children may be vaccinated at their physician’s office or at FDOH-Escambia’s Immunizations Clinic. Parents of children needing school-required vaccinations are being urged not to wait in order to ensure that their child may be vaccinated prior to the start of school.
FDOH-Escambia’s Immunizations Clinic is open Monday through Friday at 1295 Fairfield Drive in Pensacola. Parents wishing to have their child vaccinated at FDOH-Escambia’s Immunizations Clinic need to make an appointment. Appointments fill quickly and are same-day only.
Special clinics are also being held in additional locations, as follows:
Northside (Ensley) 8390 North Palafox
- same-day appointments, Monday through Friday from August 10 through August 21, 2015.
Molino 3470 Highway 29 North
- same-day appointments, Monday through Friday from August 10 through August 21, 2015.
To schedule an appointment, call (850) 595-6554.
Construction Delays: Nine Mile Road; I-10 At Scenic Highway
August 10, 2015
Drivers can expect delays this week on Nine Mile Road at Heritage Oaks Drive and on I-10 at the Scenic Highway overpass.
Nine Mile Road westbound traffic west of I-10, near Heritage Oaks Drive (at Navy Federal), will encounter lane closures from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Monday, Aug. 10 through Friday, Aug. 14 as crews perform construction activities.
Demolition and reconstruction of the existing Scenic Highway overpass on I-10 continues. The work will require the following traffic impacts beginning Monday, Aug. 10:
- I-10 eastbound traffic near U.S. 90 (Scenic Highway) will be shifted to the south near the overpass until the end of 2015. The speed limit will be reduced to 60 mph.
- I-10 westbound near the Scenic Highway overpass and the Scenic Highway on-ramp to I-10 will be intermittently closed from 8 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. each night for approximately three weeks.
Drivers are reminded by the Florida Department of Transportation to use caution, especially at night, when traveling through a work zone. All planned construction activities are weather dependent and may be re-scheduled in the event of inclement weather.
Pictured I-10 at Scenic Highway eastbound (top) and westbound (below). NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Learn More About Master Gardeners During Open House
August 10, 2015
Escambia County Extension Service will host a special Volunteer Open House on Wednesday, August 19 for those interested in learning about the University of Florida’s Master Gardener Volunteer Program. The open house will be held at the Escambia County Extension Service offices at 3740 Stefani Road in Cantonment.
Attendees will learn about training sessions, volunteer activities and the role of master gardeners in our community. Applications will also be available for the 2015-16 fall/winter master gardener training program. During the open house, a program overview and tour of the projects at the Extension Service office will be given by the agent and master gardeners at 9 a.m. and lasting approximately 30 minutes.
For information, contact Beth Bolles with Escambia County Extension at (850) 475-5230 or at bbolles@ufl.edu.
Barons Beat The Wahoos
August 10, 2015
Pensacola Blue Wahoos pitcher Tim Adleman showed no signs of the right elbow injury that placed him on the disabled list July 30 and caused him to miss one start.
The lanky right-hander struck out a season-high eight Birmingham Barons batters over six innings of work on national television. He now has 95 strikeouts in 119.2 innings of work for the Blue Wahoos.
However, the Barons scored the winning run in the eighth to pull out a 3-2 victory in front of 5,038 fans, which was the 21st sellout this season at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
The Wahoos Life was televised across the nation by the American Sports Network. Sunday’s game was one of 15 Minor League Baseball games that will air live this year and was the only Southern League game selected. Fans and staff pinked out the stadium with thousands wearing pink Blue Wahoos t-shirts provided by Visit Florida.
Pensacola fell to 25-18 (50-61) in the second half of the South Division in the Southern League. Birmingham remains on top of the North at 27-15 (60-51).
The Barons went ahead, 3-2, in the eighth inning when third baseman Nicky Delmonico doubled and scored on first baseman Danny Hayes’ smash to Blue Wahoos second baseman Alex Blandino, who was playing in on the grass. Blandino’s throw to home was wide left.
Pensacola manager Pat Kelly said the Blue Wahoos were hurt when Birmingham snuffed out the club’s bases-loaded, no-out rally in the fifth inning. Birmingham reliever Tim Crabbe, who improved to 2-1, struck out Pensacola right fielder Juan Duran and then got third baseman Seth Mejias-Brean to ground out into a double play to end the scoring threat.
“We had a good opportunity with the bases loaded and nobody out,” Kelly said. “That was very huge.”
Pensacola had tied the game, 2-2, in the fourth inning when DH Sean Buckley lined a single to center to score Mejias-Brean, who led off the inning with a double past the third baseman. Buckley then scored on a chopper by shortstop Zach Vincej down the third base line.
Meanwhile, Adleman had a strong start and could have gotten out of the two-run first inning but Blandino missed the tag on Birmingham speedster Tim Anderson in a run down. Anderson then ended up scoring on Hayes’ ground ball single to right field. Second baseman Joey DeMichele lined a single to left that scored center fielder Jacob May and Birmingham led, 2-0.
Birmingham is now 46-5 when they score first.
In his six innings, Adleman allowed six hits and a walk and lowered his ERA to 2.41.
“I thought Timmy pitched great,” Kelly said. “If we don’t screw up that run down in the first inning, they don’t score off him. They have a tough lineup.”
But Birmingham’s Anderson, the Chicago White Sox top prospect, went 3-4 with a double and stole his Southern League-leading 45th base in the seventh inning.
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos play the fourth game of a five-game series at 6:35 p.m. Monday against the Chicago White Sox Double-A affiliate the Birmingham Barons.
ECSO Questions Two About Lakeview Murder
August 10, 2015
UPDATE: The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said both individuals have been located and talked to investigators.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is looking for two people in connection with a Saturday murder.
About 5:45 a.m., deputies found Eugenio Acosta Lopez found inside a home in the 220 block of Lakeview Avenue suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased.
Investigators said that they would like to speak with 18-year old D’Erica Keondrasha Goldsmith and 28-year old Aaron Simmons for questioning only. Anyone with information about their whereabouts or the death is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy Available For Review
August 10, 2015
The 2015 draft annual update of the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) is now available for public review and comment.
The CEDS is a working document, used by private and public sectors, aimed at helping expand private-public partnerships.
Because the northwest Florida region was designated an Economic Development District (EDD), WFRPC is required to conduct a major update of the CEDS every five years and provide minor annual updates on all other years. The 2015 update is conducted by the CEDS Committee, which reviews the CEDS, provides status updates for strategic projects, programs, and activities, and revision to the Goals and Objectives as needed.
The CEDS Committee, comprised of diverse public and private sector representatives, brings representatives together to develop an economic roadmap to diversify and strengthen regional economies. A CEDS analyzes the regional economy and serves as a guide for establishing regional goals and objectives, developing and implementing a regional plan of action, and identifying investment priorities and funding sources. This year, the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) required the document to address economic resilience, which was incorporated throughout the CEDS by establishing goals and objectives for emergency preparedness and action steps for industry diversification.
A hard copy of the draft is available at West Florida Regional Planning Council, 4081 E. Olive Rd., Suite A, in Pensacola or online at www.wfrpc.org. Public comments may be submitted to Caitlin Cerame or call (850) 332-7976 ext. 203, until September 3, 2015.
Jerry Davis Named Northwest Florida Agriculture Innovator of the Year
August 9, 2015
Jerry Davis of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties has been selected as the Northwest Florida Agriculture Innovator of the Year.
Davis has been at the forefront of agricultural success in Santa Rosa and Escambia counties for many years. He has been a very progressive leader in many movements to improve farming techniques throughout the state. He comes from a farming family, growing soybeans and wheat in his youth.
The family tradition of farming continues to this day as his wife Patty, and daughter Caitlynn have been very active in the farming operation that has included cotton, peanuts, wheat, corn, soybeans, vegetables, livestock and other crops. Early on, Davis designed a seed conditioning plant (to clean and bag seed for planting) at age 20 for the family farm, and after that, he began farming in 1984.
Davis has been on the cutting edge in adopting new technology for agriculture. In 1987, he became involved with the Extension service in testing a cotton crop simulation model and expert system developed by scientists in USDA-ARS and Mississippi State and Clemson Universities.
Davis attended several training sessions with the agent at Mississippi State University, and tested the model for many years on his farm. The computer model benefited program participants by allowing them to optimize inputs in relation to weather, nitrogen, moisture stress, crop maturity, growth resultants, and harvest aid materials. Data collected was provided to researchers for model improvement, and data showed that growers participating in the project increased net profits on test fields by more than $30 per acre.
The Davis Farm adopted no-till in 1985, ahead of the trend. In no-till farming, farmers plant and fertilize directly into the soil without tilling it first. Undisturbed topsoil and organic matter, including the remains of the previous crop, composts naturally, acting as a built-in natural fertilizer. The organic matter also serves to hold moisture in the soil.
Over the years, he’s diversified into other row crops as well as livestock and vegetables, but his mainstay has always been row crops.
Davis is widely considered an early adopter of innovations and is ready and willing to try new concepts on his farm. He has partnered with UF/IFAS on variety trials and projects over the years, but most recently, he has tried his hand at growing carinata, which can be processed into a ready-to-use biofuel.
Researchers are working to determine if carinata can be successfully grown in the Panhandle for use as oilseeds. The seeds would be crushed, and the resulting product would be refined for use as a renewable source of jet fuel.
Though Davis and his crew are busy farming multiple thousands of acres, he has always had time to work with Extension through committee work, as the leader of a tour, or as a sounding board. For the past several years, he has played a major role in the West Florida Research and Education Center’s Farm-City Week Celebration. His farm purchases and donates the sweet potatoes that are included in the box of Thanksgiving food that is given to pre-qualified needy recipients in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. Much of the produce in the box is grown at the WFREC, but the sweet potatoes come from Baldwin County, courtesy of the Davis Family.
Davis is very civic minded and has worked diligently to advance the interests of the farming community. For many years he has been a spokesman for farmers at the local, state, and national levels. He has worked with policy makers to ensure disaster legislation and positive Federal Farm Bills.
by Libby Johnson, Escambia County Extension, and NorthEscambia.com
Pictured top: Jerry Davis harvests wheat. Pictured top inset: Northwest Florida Agriculture Innovator of the Year Jerry Davis. Pictured lower inset: Davis and his wife Patty. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.