Council On Aging Needs Fans, Air Conditioners For Seniors
July 26, 2015
The Council on Aging of West Florida is in need of donations to help senior clients stay cool during the hot summer months.
Many clients are in need of fans and air conditioners. Donations, which must be new in the box with a standard 120 volt plug, can be dropped off at the Council on Aging Office at 875 Royce Street in Pensacola.
Donations towards fans and air conditioners can also be made by calling (850) 432-1475.
Pictured top: The Association of Monsanto Solutia Retirees recently donated $1,000 to the Council on Aging of West Florida to purchase air conditioners for needy seniors. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge
State Sees Sharp Spike In Number Of Children In Foster Care
July 26, 2015
The number of Florida children in the state’s foster-care system has reached its highest level since 2008 — driven by both a spike in the number of kids being removed from their homes and a drop in the number being discharged after a stint in foster care.
In the last 24 months, the number of children in what’s known as out-of-home care has reached 22,004 statewide, up from 17,591 in 2013.
These and other trends are included in a report developed by the Department of Children and Families for a recent meeting of the state’s privatized community-based care organizations, which oversee foster care and adoption services.
Child-welfare professionals say there are multiple reasons for the surge, among them the state’s new method for assessing risks to a child’s safety. The new methodology involves looking past a single incident that prompts a visit from a child protective investigator to the likelihood of danger down the road.
“The safety methodology requires that the investigators ask a lot more questions regarding (a family’s) past history,” said Mark Jones, CEO of the Community Partnership for Children, which serves Volusia, Flagler and Putnam counties. “The more questions they’re asking, the more red flags they’re seeing, and they’re seeing that children may not be safe for the long term.”
DCF Assistant Secretary for Child Welfare Janice Thomas agreed.
“In our previous practice, we did (put) a lot of focus on what was happening right then, specifically what had been reported to the hotline,” she said. “Now we are trying to take a different lens to that family and include any kind of prior history that we have.”
Jones, who said his agency had seen a spike of 35 percent in out-of-home placements over the last nine months, also noted that over time, the number of children in the system typically varies.
For instance, he said, the last spike came in 2012, due to the state’s prescription-drug epidemic. The Legislature responded to concerns about so-called “pill mills” earlier this decade by cracking down on prescription-drug abuse, leading to more child-protection actions.
“Every three or four years, we see the pendulum swing, from family preservation to child safety,” Jones said. “I think it’s got less to do with methodology and more to do with the focus in the media, specifically on child safety and child deaths.”
A wave of media reports on child deaths in 2013 culminated in sweeping new legislation that went into effect a year ago this week.
“The cultural environment that we have right now is one where no one wants a kid to die, ever,” said Mike Watkins, chief executive officer of Big Bend Community Based Care. “And the easiest way to make sure kids don’t die is to remove them. I think the department and pockets, certain communities like Miami, Broward and West Palm Beach, are extremely risk-averse and decide to remove the child if there’s any question.”
Watkins also pointed to the fact that the state’s population has increased since 2008, when the number of people moving to Florida fell due to the recession. “Now that’s picked back up,” he said.
Many agree that another factor is high turnover among child protective investigators at DCF and the six sheriff’s offices that handle child-protection cases, and among case managers at the community-based care organizations.
The 2014 child-welfare reform law was accompanied by an increase of $21.2 million for new child-protective investigators. However, because there is still a high rate of turnover among the CPIs, as they’re known, many are relatively new and more likely to err on the side of removing a child from the home.
And while the community-based care organizations got $10 million in new funding last year and $29.1 million in new funding this year, they say it won’t meet the need caused by the uptick of children in foster care.
“It will not be enough,” Watkins said. “The new dollars don’t take in the projections we’re seeing.”
Former state senator Ron Silver, who handles legislative affairs for Our Kids, the community-based care lead agency in Miami, agreed.
“We’re very grateful for what they’ve done,” he said. “But that was catch-up time. They gave us more money, but they had not given us (increased) money for a long period of time.”
According to DCF, between May 2013 and July 2014, the number of children receiving Our Kids in-home services in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties increased more than 63 percent, while the number in out-of-home care increased nearly 36 percent.
The increased numbers also have revealed statewide gaps in family services that allow children to stay with their parents after verified findings of abuse or neglect.
Christina Spudeas, executive director of the advocacy group Florida’s Children First, said she found the most troubling aspect of the DCF report to be the fact that “in-home services to prevent removal have declined since a peak in 2012.”
“The key to successfully leaving children in the home after an allegation of abuse or neglect is to have the right services provided to the family at the right time, with sufficient oversight,” Spudeas said. “If the lead agencies are not working hard to have those services in place, then they are part of the problem.”
But DCF’s Thomas, who has worked in child welfare for more than 30 years, said the new methodology was still being implemented and would ultimately succeed.
“The practice we’ve established is the best I’ve ever seen,” she said. “It’s the best we’ve ever practiced in Florida, in my opinion. … People are still learning it.
by Margie Menzel, The News Service of Florida
NorthEscambia.com photo.
Biloxi Beats The Wahoos
July 26, 2015
After being shut down for seven innings getting only one hit — a solo home run by left fielder Jesse Winker — the Pensacola Blue Wahoos lineup came alive in the eighth and ninth innings getting a double, two singles and a walk.
However, Pensacola’s hopes for a comeback against the Biloxi Shuckers fell short, 4-2, and the Shuckers evened the series at two games apiece in front of a sellout crowd of 5,038 at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium. It was the 19th sellout of the season in 47 home dates and 123 since Pensacola’s first season in 2012.
There were plenty of theatrics in the ninth inning and not just at bat.
Home plate umpire Alex Ziegler ejected Pensacola catcher Kyle Skipworth over an alleged argument on a foul tip. Skipworth, who was behind the plate, took his catcher’s gear off and threw it toward the umpire. Pensacola manager Pat Kelly came out in the middle of the argument and was ejected. Kelly threw his helmet and hat down, took off his jersey and threw it to the ground and then ejected each of the umpires on the field.
Kelly said afterward that he was mad because the home plate umpire wouldn’t admit any wrongdoing after both teams argued about his strike zone throughout the game.
“My temper is good for 30 seconds,” Kelly said. “Once I reach 30 seconds, then it’s over. I don’t carry a grudge. I get it out of my system.”
Pensacola shortstop Juan Perez doubled off Shuckers reliever Jacob Barnes and scored on center fielder’s Bryson Smith’s single in the eighth that cut Biloxi’s lead to 3-2. However, Biloxi came back in the ninth and scored a run when third baseman Taylor Green scored on a perfect squeeze bunt by Shuckers catcher Parker Berberet to go up, 4-2.
In the ninth inning, first baseman Marquez Smith walked and right fielder Juan Duran singled but they were both left on base.
Kelly credited Biloxi’s left-handed starter Hobbs Johnson and reliever Jacob Barnes.
“They have good pitching and we face another good one tomorrow,” said Kelly, referring to Shuckers Jorge Lopez (8-4, 2.70). “That’s how they won the first half.”
For the third time against Biloxi this series, Pensacola smacked a solo home run in the first inning. Bryson Smith did it Wednesday, Ryan Wright did if Friday and Winker did it Saturday.
Winker smacked his seventh homer of the year and earned his team-leading 35th RBI to put the Blue Wahoos up 1-0.
It was the only hit Biloxi pitcher Johnson, the Milwaukee Brewers No. 23 prospect according to Baseball America, gave up in his seven innings of work. Johnson, in fact, retired 16 Blue Wahoos in a row from the second inning through the seventh inning before reliever Barnes came on.
Perez doubled in the eighth off the Shuckers reliever to end the streak of 17 straight Blue Wahoos set down.
Zack Weiss gave up his first run in relief since July 16 when Berberet’s squeeze bunt scored Green to put the Shuckers ahead, 4-2. In his 15 appearances since June 15, Weiss has given up just three runs in 17 innings for a 1.59 ERA. The Blue Wahoos closer has converted all 10 save opportunities and struck out 26 batters.
Biloxi went ahead, 2-1, in the second inning when Green doubled in two runs. In the top of the sixth, Biloxi shortstop Nick Shaw scored on a deep fly ball by first baseman Nick Ramirez to make the score, 3-1, Shuckers.
The Shuckers improved to 13-15 (56-40) in the second half of the Southern League South Division season. The loss dropped Pensacola into second place behind the Mobile BayBears at 17-12 (42-55) in the second half.
The final game of the five-game series is scheduled at 4:05 p.m. Sunday with the Milwaukee Brewers Double-A affiliate Biloxi Shuckers. RHP Barrett Astin (2-1, 3.45) takes the mound for the Wahoos and is scheduled to be opposed by Shuckers RHP Jorge Lopez (8-4, 2.70).
Century Completes $176K Paving Project
July 25, 2015
The ride around some parts of Century is a lot smoother after the town completed a $176,000 paving project.
The following streets were resurfaced or patched as noted:
- Jefferson Avenue – Resurface from curve at Mincey Lane to railroad tracks – $11,467.50
- Jefferson Avenue – Patch near Carver Community Center – $696
- Robert Road — Patch – $319
- Tedder Road – Patch near fire station $1,517
- Pond Street – Resurface from Century Business Center to bridge near sewer plant – $32,817.90
- Pinewood Avenue – Resurface from Hecker to Front Street – $17,701.65
- Mayo Street – Resurface from Hecker to Front Street – $25,437
- Mayo Lane – Resurface from Mayor Street to Jefferson Avenue – $16,367
- Kelly Field Road – Pave gravel road beside railroad tracks – $6,090
- Kelly Field R0ad – Overlay section between ball field and cemetery – $6,595.65
- Kelly Field Road – Resurface from Hecker Road to ballpark gate - $8,201
- Lodge Drive – Resurface from Hecker to Front Street $12,690.70
- Wood Street – Resurface from Lodge Drive to Bradley – $4,746.85
- Hecker Road -Patch near Alger Road – $725
- Renfroe Street – Resurface from Hwy 29 to Ivey Street – $5,650.35
- Ivey Street — Resuface — $16,588
The total cost was set to be $176,392.44 to contractor Roads, Inc. A mobilization fee of $2,100 was also included in the total. The project was not be bid; the council piggybacked on an existing Escambia County contract with Roads. A second company is set to add striping and lines to the repaved street.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
103-Year Old Della Godwin Passes Away
July 25, 2015
Della Godwin of Century, one of the oldest residents of the North Escambia area, has passed away. She was 103.
Godwin was born in Jay back in 1912, one of 12 children born to her parents Annie and William Griffis. She has two younger surviving siblings - Jean Clark of Bluff Springs and Veda Welch of Pineview. She raised two sons, one of which is deceased, and has four grandchildren.
She was raised in the Mount Carmel community of Santa Rosa County. In her early years, she spent most of time in the cotton fields, but she was always in church on Sundays.
At a birthday celebration, Godwin attributed her long life to hard work and faith. Those who know her said that she was always caring for and helping others. She always put family first, even if it meant she had to do without the things she needed.
Godwin was longtime resident of the Century area and was the oldest resident at the Century Health and Rehabilitation Center.
Funeral services for Della Godwin will be held Sunday at 2 p.m. at Petty-Eastside Chapel in Atmore with burial to follow at the Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Jay.
For the complete obituary, click here.
Pictured top: Century resident Della Godwin turned 103-years old in April. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Research, Education Center Holds Field Corn Field Day
July 25, 2015
UF/IFAS West Florida Research and Education Center in Jay held their annual Field Corn Field Day Friday. Producers were able to learn about a corn variety trial and demonstration, environmentally smart nitrogen, fertilizer timing and more. They were also able to see how different varieties of corn perform side by side. Pictured: Crop systems specialist during Field Corn Field Day. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Air Force Captain Sentenced In Child Sex Scheme
July 25, 2015
An Air Force captain has been sentenced in a child sex sting.
Kenneth D. Lebay, 31, was sentenced by Judge Michael Jones to 28 months in state prison, plus seven years probation. He will also be required to register as a sex offender. Lebay’s attorney immediately appealed the sentence and asked that he be released pending the outcome of the appeal, but Jones denied the motion . Lebay was remanded into custody.
According to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, Lebay traveled to a local business to meet what he believed was a juvenile female but was actually an undercover investigator. He was charged with obscene communication using a computer to lure a child for sex, and obscene communication using a two-way device.
The arrest came as part of “Operation Blue Guardian”, in which six other people were arrested.
Weekend Gardening: Distinctly Southern Hydrangeas
July 25, 2015
by Santa Rosa County Extension
Nothing defines a southern landscape more than hydrangeas.
These beautiful, large flowering shrubs fill gardens with their green, leafy foliage and incredible blooms during the warm months.
In order to ensure consistent and reliable blooms, these shrubs must be cared for correctly. In addition to proper site location, fertilizer and moisture conditions, hydrangeas may require pruning. Proper pruning includes correct timing.
Hydrangea aficionados are constantly debating pruning techniques. There are many different types of hydrangeas and pruning differs according to the type. It is a big genus of plants and so it’s important to know what type of hydrangeas you may have and on what type of wood they bloom on.
Blooms on old wood, prune after flowering
The bigleaf hydrangeas, known scientifically as Hydrangea macrophylla, are what most people think of when you mention hydrangeas. Most gardeners will know these as mopheads (also called hortensias) and lacecaps. Many of these blooms will be blue or pink although other colors now are available.
Many large colonies of bigleaf hydrangeas have existed around old homes for decades, surviving and blooming in spite of neglect. This tells us that it is not necessary to prune bigleaf hydrangeas.
However, if you want to keep these shrubs within a defined boundary, control their height or rejuvenate old shrubs, it will be necessary to prune them.
Bigleaf hydrangeas can be reduced in size immediately after flowering. A general rule of thumb is that you may remove up to a third of the shrub’s height. Be sure to complete your pruning before August. This is critical because next year flower blooms start to form in August. Pruning after August will remove next year’s blooms.
There now is a small group of bigleaf hydrangeas that are everblooming or remontant. Endless Summer® is one well-known brand. According to the developers of these reblooming hydrangeas, remove spent flowers to encourage rebloom. They are quite forgiving and will not suffer if left unpruned or pruned at the wrong time because these cultivars bloom on both old and new growth.
Our native oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) is a large, deciduous shrub that can grow up to six feet tall. It has deeply lobed, oak-like leaves which turn bronze in the fall. This plant does not usually need pruning. If reshaping or size-reduction is necessary, prune after blooms begin to fade.
Article Continues Below Photo
Lacecap hydrangea
Blooms on new wood, prune in early spring
Smooth hydrangea (H. arborescens) is the other U.S. native. The most common cultivar, ‘Annabelle’, produces rounded inflorescences that may reach up to a foot in diameter.
The panicle hydrangea (H. paniculata) is more of an upright type. It is typically a 10 to 15-foot large shrub or low-branched tree.
Panicle and smooth hydrangeas flower on current year’s growth and can be pruned anytime from late summer until early spring. If pruning these two species in the spring, try to prune before leaves appear.
Winter pruning
Established bigleaf, panicle, oakleaf and smooth hydrangea plants can often benefit from rejuvenation pruning. Remove about one-third of the oldest stems each year. The result is a fuller, healthier plant. This type of pruning is easiest to do in winter, since the absence of leaves makes it easier to see and reach inside plants.
Hydrangeas offer a wide variety of plants which can make the timing of pruning difficult to remember. Just keep in mind, if in doubt, either don’t prune at all or prune after flowering.
Rejected Medical Pot Apps Likely To Be Challenged
July 25, 2015
Even before selecting five nurseries to become Florida’s first legal pot producers, Department of Health officials will face a challenge from at least one grower whose application was tossed out because it was late.
The department’s Office of Compassionate Use staff rejected two of the 30 applications from nurseries hoping to get chosen as one of the five coveted “dispensing organizations.” Both were tossed because they were received after a 5 p.m. deadline following a frenzied scene during a torrential downpour July 8 at the agency’s headquarters.
Both nurseries say their representatives were told by Department of Health workers that the 5 p.m. deadline didn’t apply.
Lawyers for O.F. Nelson & Sons say they intend to challenge the rejection because the Apopka-based nursery’s representatives were told that the deadline was extended for a day, in part because of the weather.
“Our application was complete, and we were prepared to submit it until the DOH expressly represented that it would extend the deadline a day. We relied on that representation, and the following day the DOH accepted our application and fee without reservation. We only recently discovered that the DOH rejected the application despite its previous assurances that we were timely,” Derek Young, a lawyer with Kaplan Young & Moll Parron who represents the nursery, told The News Service of Florida on Friday.
The O.F. Nelson application was time-stamped 12 p.m. on July 9.
“Our dispensing organization is by far the most qualified and includes one of the leading medical cannabis companies in the world. Florida’s patient population deserves the high standards of quality and safety our dispensing organization represents, and we therefore intend to challenge the DOH’s indefensible position to ensure our patients receive exactly that,” Young said.
Ed Miller and Son Nursery also received a letter from Patricia Nelson, then-director of the Office of Compassionate Use, saying that the application from the Palm City nursery — time-stamped at 5:27 p.m. July 8 — was “untimely.” Nelson left the Office of Compassionate Use post a week ago.
The certified letters, sent July 16, also say that the nurseries have 21 days to file a challenge. Department officials referred to state law in response to questions about the rejections.
Ed Miller and Son is trying to get a license in the southeastern region of Florida. Anthony Ardizzone, a partner in the nursery, said the deadline wasn’t clear and he is considering a challenge.
“We’re reviewing our options,” he told The News Service of Florida this week.
While the application for the dispensing organizations said that documents would be accepted “no later than 5 p.m.” July 8, the Office of Compassionate Use’s website says that the applications would be taken “through” 5 p.m.
Ardizzone is relying on Webster’s Dictionary definition of “through,” which means “during the entire period of” or “from the beginning to the end of.” That means the applications should have been accepted all through the 5 o’clock hour until 6 p.m., according to Ardizzone.
Ardizzone also said that a representative who delivered his nearly 2,000-page application was told by a Department of Health worker that applications received before 5:30 “would be OK.”
“The doors were open. It was accepted. It was received,” Ardizzone said. “Our contention is that they took it. And they took additional information two days later.”
The health department responded to requests for comment with excerpts from a rule, which says that applications would be received “no earlier than 10:00 AM, Eastern Time, on the effective date of this rule and no later than 5:00 PM, Eastern Time, 21 calendar days after the effective date of this rule.” The rule went into effect on June 17.
Health Department spokeswoman Mara Burger also referred to the language in letters sent to the two nurseries citing Florida law allowing affected parties to petition for administrative hearings within 21 days of receiving the letters.
Nearly all of those seeking licenses waited until the last day to submit the applications, resulting in a frenzy at the health department’s Tallahassee headquarters as the 5 p.m. deadline loomed and a downpour raged during rush-hour traffic, according to one observer.
The door to the building facing the street was locked and visitors were supposed to enter through a side door, creating more confusion as individuals toting boxes of documents scrambled to beat the clock, said Jeff Sharkey, a lobbyist who represents the Medical Marijuana Business Association of Florida, which he founded.
“You could smell the anxiety and the desperation in the air as the clock ticked towards 5 p.m.,” Sharkey said. “People are coming in and handing in their applications. … One person came at 4:55 and ran up to the door and I opened the door for him. They stamped in at 4:57.”
Things worsened one minute before 5 p.m., Sharkey said.
“It’s raining. There’s no place to park out there now. And this poor kid comes screaming up in some little car and grabs this box of stuff and runs up to the door and he’s pounding on the door. And 5:00 is like a minute away,” he said.”His face was up against the glass. He’s mouthing ‘Please open the door!’ He’s sopping wet.”
Sharkey said he opened the door for the man, who was told by a worker that he had missed the 5 p.m. deadline.
“And the poor kid just freaked out,” Sharkey said.
A three-member panel, which includes the new head of the Office of Compassionate Use, has three months to choose five nurseries — one from each region of the state — to grow, process and distribute marijuana that is low in euphoria-inducing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, and high in cannabadiol, or CBD. Parents of children with a severe form of epilepsy pushed the Legislature last year to approve the low-THC cannabis, believing it can end or dramatically reduce life-threatening seizures.
Doctors were supposed to be able to begin ordering the medical marijuana for patients with severe muscle spasms or cancer on Jan. 1, but the 2014 law has been mired in challenges.
In November, Administrative Law Judge W. David Watkins rejected health officials’ first attempt at a rule governing the pot industry, agreeing with Miami-based Costa Farms and others that objected to the Department of Health’s proposed use of a lottery to pick the licensees.
Watkins upheld a second version of the rule in May after it, too, was challenged.
Under the current regulations, the panel will pick the five licensees based on a weighted scorecard that evaluates cultivation, processing, dispensing, financials and the operation’s medical director.
Nurseries that have been doing business in Florida for at least 30 continuous years and grow a minimum of 400,000 plants at the time they apply are eligible for a license. The applications ask nurseries about their investors, pot consultants, protocols and the types of cannabis they intend to cultivate.
Applicants had 21 days to collect documents, secure the $5 million bond required in the law and submit them to state health officials, a timeline many grumbled was too hasty. Some out-of-state consultants were charging at least $150,000 to craft the applications.
Nearly everyone in the industry, including those on the sidelines, predict that, once awarded, the licenses will be challenged. From four to seven nurseries applied in each of the five regions.
In addition to the non-refundable $60,063 application fee, $5 million bond and costs to submit the license, Ardizzone estimated that it would cost $12 million to get his operation up-and-running.
The possibility that Florida voters could have another shot at legalizing full-blown medical marijuana in November 2016 makes the licenses even more appealing. The applications are a public record, except for information that is deemed “proprietary” or is exempt by Florida’s broad open records laws, so losers will be able to scrutinize their competitors’ winning documents.
“Everyone involved in this process has always assumed that the losers of the selection process will challenge. I think that is a given,” said Louis Rotundo, a lobbyist who represents the Florida Medical Cannabis Association.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Biloxi Ends Wahoos Win Streak
July 25, 2015
No one expected the Pensacola Blue Wahoos to win the final 42 games of the season.
Although, Pensacola manager Pat Kelly said jokingly that he would have liked that.
The Biloxi Shuckers – the first half champions – ended the Blue Wahoo’s four-game win streak and 11 straight wins at home with a 3-2 victory Friday in front of 4,348 at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
The loss dropped Pensacola into second place behind the Mobile BayBears at 17-11 (42-54) in the second half of the Southern League South Division race.
For the first four innings, the Blue Wahoos breezed along. Pensacola second baseman Ryan Wright belted his first home run of the year, a solo shot, to left field to give the Blue Wahoos a 1-0 lead.
Wright has played in four games since coming off the disabled list with back spasms July 20 and is hitting .429 (6-14) with two doubles, one homer and four RBIs.
“It was a first pitch fastball,” said Wright, who scored both of Pensacola’s runs. “I think I took him (Tyler Wagner) by surprise a little bit. But I wanted to be aggressive and that was the best pitch I saw all night. He’s a very good pitcher. We’ve seen him a few times this year.”
Meanwhile, Pensacola starter Tim Adleman started the game by setting down the first nine Shuckers before walking second baseman Nate Orf. He threw four hitless innings before the Shuckers scored three times on two hits in the fifth to go up, 3-1.
Biloxi left fielder Victor Roache scored an unearned run and then pitcher Tyler Wagner took matters into his own hands. His double rolled to the left center wall to score third baseman Taylor Green and catcher Adam Weisenburger and give the Shuckers a 3-1 lead.
Wagner had a season-high 11 strikeouts in seven innings against the Pensacola lineup and improved to 7-5 with a 2.53 ERA. His two RBIs also helped his cause. The Milwaukee Brewers No. 10 prospect according to MLB.com had been 0-3 with a 2.77 ERA in four starts in July, getting just six runs of support from Biloxi’s lineup.
Wagner made one appearance with the Brewers against the Arizona Diamondbacks May 31 and lasted 3.2 innings giving up five runs on nine hits.
Kelly said Wagner was impressive.
“He singlehandedly won the game for them,” Kelly said. “He was throwing a helluva game. We got some guys on base but he didn’t give us a lot of opportunities.”
Pensacola cut Biloxi’s lead to, 3-2, in the sixth inning when right fielder Juan Duran doubled off the left field wall to drive in Wright, who singled up the middle to lead off the sixth inning.
Pensacola went down in order in the seventh and eighth before putting the tying run on second and the winning run on first. But second baseman Ray Chang hit a line drive to first baseman Nick Ramirez, who caught the ball and tagged pinch runner Juan Perez out to end the game.
The fourth game of the five-game series is scheduled at 6:35 p.m. Saturday with the Milwaukee Brewers Double-A affiliate Biloxi Shuckers. RHP Josh Smith (5-2, 3.00) takes the mound for the Wahoos and is scheduled to be opposed by Shuckers LHP Hobbs Johnson (6-4, 3.36).