Photos: Alabama, Florida Fire Departments Conduct Joint Water Training
July 21, 2013
Several area fire departments continued their series of joint training exercises Saturday morning.
Members of the Atmore Fire Department, Poarch Fire Department, Nokomis (AL) Volunteer Fire Department, McCall Volunteer Fire Department, Appleton Volunteer Fire Department and the Walnut Hill Station of Escambia (FL) Fire Rescue took part in the joint exercise that was all about moving a lot of water quickly.
Using two 1,500 gallon tankers from Walnut Hill and a tanker from Nokomis, firefighters shuttled water from a hydrant over a half mile away to Escambia County High School in Atmore. The water was dumped into storage pools capable of holding 4,000 gallons, allowing the tanker trucks to support a 500 gallon per minute water flow. The tankers were also used to supply a 1,000 gallon per minute flow.
Firefighters said the exercise allowed the departments to learn how to work together to carryout an operation that would allow them to fight a very large fire using only tanker trucks as a water supply in the event a hydrant was not available.
The city of Atmore does not currently have a tanker truck in its fire department, so the exercise also gave Atmore firefighters a chance to learn more about tanker truck operations.
Pictured top: About 1,500 gallons of water are quickly dumped from a Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department tanker truck into a 3,000 gallon storage pool that was being used to supply a 1,000 gallon storage pool and a 500 gallon per minute nozzle Saturday morning at Escambia County High School in Atmore. Pictured inset: Walnut Hill Station Chief Chris Brown adjusts a 1,000 gallon per minute nozzle being supplied by two tanker trucks. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Hunstville Beats Wahoos 10-5
July 21, 2013
Jason Rogers smashed three home runs and drove home another run with a single as part of a six-RBI night in the Huntsville Stars’ 10-5 win over the Pensacola Blue Wahoos on Saturday night in front of the 21st capacity crowd of the season at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
Rogers started the scoring with a two-run homer in the top half of the fourth inning against Pensacola starter Tim Crabbe. It was part of a four-run frame for the Stars who got an RBI triple from Adam Weisenburger and an RBI single from Eric Patterson to build a 4-0 lead. Crabbe was taken out of the game after four frames. He allowed four runs on six hits with five strikeouts.
However, in the last of the fourth, the Wahoos countered with four runs of their own against Huntsville starter Taylor Jungmann. With runners on second and third and one out, Devin Lohman reached on an infield single to score a run while another run scored on a throwing error by the pitcher Jungmann to make it 4-2. Corey Wimberly doubled home Lohman two batters later to make 4-3 before Wimberly scored on an RBI single from Yorman Rodriguez, knotting the game at four. Rodriguez finished the night going 4-for-5 with a triple and an RBI. It was the first time this season a Wahoo has recorded four hits in a game.
Rogers broke the tie in the sixth inning with a solo homer and added an insurance tally with a two-out single in the seventh to give the Stars a 6-4 lead. Both hits came against Loek Van Mil who fell to 0-6 by allowing two runs on seven hits in three innings.
In the ninth, Rogers provided the exclamation point to his night with another two-run shot to left, capping a four-run frame for Huntsville and opening up a 10-4 cushion. Rogers went 4-for-5 with the three homers and six RBI, both career-highs. The three blasts were his first since May 27.
Pensacola scored a run in the last of the ninth inning when Tucker Barnhart singled home Donald Lutz to make it 10-5. Barnhart went 2-for-3 with an RBI to extend his hitting streak to eight games.
David Goforth picked up the win for Huntsville to improve to 4-1. In relief of Jungmann, Goforth fired three scoreless frames with two strikeouts. Jungmann didn’t last past the fourth inning for Huntsville, as he gave up four runs on seven hits and took a no-decision.
Pensacola will look to salvage the final two games of the series starting on Sunday at 4 p.m. Josh Smith (7-8, 3.72) will start for the Wahoos while Ariel Pena (5-7, 3.47) gets the call for the Stars.
story by Kevin Burke
Birth: Brantley James Sharpless
July 21, 2013
Aaron and Rachel (Martin) Sharpless are pleased to announce the birth of their son, Brantley James Sharpless. Brantley was born on May 30, 2013, at 7:44 am. He weighed 8 lbs. 5 oz., and was 21.5 inches long. Maternal grandparents are Keith and Rochel Martin. Paternal grandparents are Glenn and Jeannie Sharpless.
Great grandparents are the late Frank Stewart Jr., Billy and Joyce Etheridge, Ken and Janette Beck, the late Henderson Robinson, Jack and Betty Sharpless, and the late Frank and Sue Robinson.
Two Charged With Robbing Woman At Gunpoint
July 20, 2013
Two Cantonment men have been charged with robbing a woman at gunpoint outside a local bar.
The victim told Escambia County deputies that she was sitting in her vehicle, waiting for a friend with her windows down, outside the bar near the intersection of Washington and Ellington streets in Cantonment. She said she was robbed at gunpoint by three black males who took her money, credit cards, cell phone and other items.
The victim told deputies she was afraid and drove the Walmart on Mobile Highway before reporting the robbery. One of the suspects later tried to use the victim’s credit card at an ATM located at a convenience store at North W Street and Massachusetts Avenue.
Deputies and the victim were able to identify all three suspects from surveillance video and a photo lineup.
Adonte D’Markus James, 24 of Booker Street, and Anthony Jerome Ducree of Louis Street, were charged with robbery with a firearm. Ducree remains in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at half a million dollars.
James was also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and fraud/impersonation for providing a false name to law enforcement. He remains in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $502,000.
The Escambia Count Sheriff’s Office has not released the identity of the third suspect.
Yarter Appointed To Vacant Seat On Escambia Extension Council
July 20, 2013
The Escambia County Commission has appointed Jean E. Yarter of McDavid to the Escambia County Extension Council.
Yarter replaces Jaime Hall who passed away unexpectedly in March 2013. Hall was first appointed to his second two-year term on the Extension Council in November 2012.
Yarter, who is retired, is a longtime resident of Escambia County.
Troopers ID Victim In Fatal Dog Track Road Accident
July 20, 2013
The Florida Highway Patrol has released the name of a Pensacola woman killed in a two vehicle crash Thursday night.
Theresa A. Bartlett, 62, was pronounced deceased at the scene of the crash about 8 p.m. Thursday. Melissa Bailey, age 39 of Cantonment, was northbound in the left turn lane of Dog Track Road at Blue Angel Parkway in a 2012 Chevrolet SUV. Bailey attempted to turn left into a business parking lot and collided with a southbound 2011 Kia driven by Bartlett, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Charges against Bailey are pending, according to the FHP. The crash remains under investigation.
Weekend Gardening: Spots On Your Crape Myrtles Can Be A Problem
July 20, 2013
As the heat and humidity increases in Northwest Florida, expect to see some diseases appear in the landscape. One problem that is popping up on crape myrtles is Cercospora leaf spot. While not a deadly problem, it can greatly detract from the beauty of crape myrtles.
The initial symptom on crape myrtles is the appearance of tan to dark brown spots randomly scattered on yellow to red discolored leaves. The spots develop first on the lower leaves and progress upward in the canopy. Spots will continue to develop from mid-summer through fall. The color change is due to the production of a toxin by the fungal pathogen.
Infected leaves will drop prematurely and serve as a source to spread the pathogen causing further disease development. As the summer progresses, many infected trees will have dropped all but the newest leaves.
Older varieties of crape myrtles are more susceptible to this disease than newer varieties. The crape myrtle varieties most tolerant to Cercospora leaf spot are Natchez, Muskogee, Basham’s Party Pink, Sioux and Tonto.
Long term, this disease is not detrimental to a tree, although it will slow down growth on younger plants. Plants growing in conditions that are not ideal will be more affected by the leaf spot disease.
The best control is selecting a planting site with good air circulation so that the foliage will dry quickly. Thinning interior branches will also promote air flow.
The use of fungicides to control this disease has not been very effective because they would have to be applied repeatedly on a regular basis throughout the growing season. If used, fungicide applications should be started in early summer when the spots are first noticed and continued at one to two week intervals when the weather is warm and wet. Consult your local Extension office for fungicide recommendations.
As always, be sure to read and follow all label directions. Fungicides can be classified by how they work on the fungus or how they work on the plant. Products that work in a similar way on fungi have the same mode of action (also referred to as chemical family or class).
Contact fungicides are sprayed onto plants and act as a protective barrier from pathogen infection. They prevent infections from occurring when applied before symptoms are visible, but infections that have already occurred will continue to develop.
Systemic fungicides move into the plant, but movement inside the plant is limited. The vast majority of fungicides only move upward in the plant vasculature, but not down. Some fungicides only move locally into the plant part treated. Some systemic products exhibit curative action, which means the disease is stopped during its development. For managing fungicide resistance, products with different modes of action should be used in rotations.
Since this disease will result in early defoliation or the loss of leaves, it is critical to practice good sanitation. Raking and destroying fallen leaves should be a routine practice in order to prevent the spread of the disease.
For more information, contact Theresa Friday at 850-623-3868 or email tlfriday@ufl.edu. Friday is the Residential Horticulture Extension Agent for Santa Rosa County.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Students Stand Their Ground, Testing Students
July 20, 2013
Florida may not be gripped by a royal baby watch, but the Sunshine State continues to be on the minds of many summertime-sweltering Americans, or at least those watching cable news and unable to distance themselves from social media.
Florida found itself before America’s TV eye for another week, as reaction continued to swirl after a jury in Sanford acquitted George Zimmerman in last year’s shooting death of Trayvon Martin, a black teenager from Miami Gardens.
Meanwhile, Florida Department of Children and Families Secretary David Wilkins left the agency to “pursue opportunities in the private sector,” after DCF faced growing criticism about the deaths of four children who earlier had come to its attention.
And that was not all the fodder during a normally slow-paced period in Tallahassee.
A divided state Board of Education, after a debate about the validity of grades issued annually to schools, approved a plan that will shield schools from steep drops this year. At the same time, legislative leaders want the state to come up with a “Florida Plan” for educational testing.
Oh, and it was announced Thursday that Florida’s unemployment rate held at 7.1 percent in June.
STUDENTS STANDING THEIR GROUND
After three days on the road in New York, Pensacola, Tampa and Bradenton, Gov. Rick Scott flew back to Tallahassee on Thursday to meet with student protesters seeking to overturn the 2005 “stand your ground” law.
But the protesters, led by a group called the Dream Defenders, didn’t like that Scott refused to budge in his support for the law. So they remained camped outside Scott’s first floor office on Friday, their fourth day on the stone floor, equipped with pillows and blankets in preparation for a weekend inside the Capitol.
While Zimmerman didn’t invoke “stand your ground” in declaring he acted in self-defense when shooting Martin, the law has been heavily debated during the racially charged case.
“So you’re telling me — again — that people who look like me, we don’t matter,” said Shamile Louis, 21, a student at the University of Florida who came from Gainesville to participate. “Our bodies don’t matter. We can lie in the street and be dead and it’s cool. I had a friend killed about a month ago in Orlando. Still no arrest. Still no nothing. Another black man gone. Another young black boy without a father.”
Democratic lawmakers across the state have offered support for the students’ sit-in. Meanwhile, legendary musician Stevie Wonder and liberal groups such as Moveon have called for boycotts of Florida tourism and orange juice.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder strongly criticized the “stand your ground” law Tuesday while addressing an NAACP convention in Orlando, and President Barack Obama chimed in Friday.
“You know, when Trayvon Martin was first shot, I said that this could have been my son,” Obama said. “Another way of saying that is, Trayvon Martin could have been me, 35 years ago.”
Scott maintains there is no reason to call the Legislature to Tallahassee for a special session on the law.
“I told them that I agree with the Task Force on Citizen Safety and Protection, which concurred with the law,” Scott said in a release after the meeting, referring to a task force formed after the shooting. The Republican-controlled Legislature did not take action this year on proposals to change the law.
WHO IS WATCHING THE DCF?
The Department of Children and Families is in flux.
Esther Jacobo, the managing director for DCF’s southern region, was named interim secretary after Wilkins, Scott’s longest-serving agency head, stepped down Thursday.
Wilkins struggled to implement a new child protection initiative that he said would “transform” DCF. But the criticism of his handling of the agency steadily grew starting May 16, when the first of the four children died. All four had had contact with DCF abuse investigators before their deaths, and critics contended the deaths could have been prevented.
Sen. Eleanor Sobel, D-Hollywood and chairwoman of the Senate Children, Families and Elder Affairs Committee, was preparing to hold a hearing on the children’s’ deaths and what she called the “turmoil” at DCF.
Wilkins didn’t aid his own cause as he clashed with people running the state’s 19 community-based care organizations, which deliver local child-welfare services.
Wilkins wanted to add terms to the agencies’ contracts that would give him more control — including the right to name their chief executive officers and other top staff.
Instead, the agencies fought back, recruiting lawmakers to try to rewrite part of state law that created the community-based care system, which was designed to shift many child-welfare duties from the state to local non-profit organizations
TESTING THE FLORIDA WAY
Senate President Don Gaetz and House Speaker Will Weatherford announced they want the state to withdraw from a multi-state educational consortium that has been developing new tests for students, saying they want a “Florida Plan.”
Gaetz and Weatherford would replace the work from the consortium known as the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, which is developing tests that are part of the national move to “Common Core Standards.”
To the lawmakers, too many questions remain unanswered about issues such as implementation, administration, technology readiness, timeliness and costs.
The introduction of the Gaetz-Weatherford idea came after the state Board of Education narrowly approved a proposal by Education Commissioner Tony Bennett that will prevent schools from dropping more than one letter grade on their annual report cards.
The brace was proposed because school superintendents said they were concerned that this year’s grades could plummet for many schools. The superintendents pointed to repeated changes in the state’s school-accountability system — 13 this year alone — which they say have made it harder to meet standards and have created uncertainty.
Bennett said the change wasn’t a lessening of standards, but part of the transition to the Common Core Standards that are scheduled to take effect during the 2014-15 school year.
“I will hold fast that this should not be permanent and cannot be part of the permanent accountability landscape,” Bennett said.
Board member Sally Bradshaw, who opposed putting a limit on how far school grades could drop, argued the move will disguise what is happening in schools.
“Why are we going to mislead parents and the public on how their schools are doing?” asked Bradshaw.
STORY OF THE WEEK: Protesters camped out in the Capitol after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. The protesters want a special legislative session on the “stand your ground” law, but Gov. Rick Scott does not plan to call such a session.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “If we got Chronic Wasting Disease in the state of Florida, I’d never eat another piece of venison.” – Marion Hammer, of the National Rifle Association, in support of a proposed ban on importing deer from out of state because of concerns about the spread of a disease can be fatal to the animals.
Florida Health Program Encourages Early Infant Screening
July 20, 2013
All expectant mothers agree on one thing: keeping their baby healthy during and after pregnancy is a primary focus. While new moms understand the role prenatal vitamins and healthy eating play in their child’s health, many may be unaware of the various disorders that can be prevented by a simple screening once the baby arrives. The Florida Department of Health (DOH) encourages all moms to consider how they can give their babies the healthiest life possible.
The Department and its new health initiatives are making strides toward increasing the number of Florida’s babies that receive proper screenings for uncommon genetic, metabolic, or enzymatic defects. The Florida Newborn Screening Program is one initiative that aims to prevent impairments by screening newborns for diseases that might not be immediately apparent, but can affect a child’s development later on. The program works with affiliated organizations like Newborn Screening Lab, Children’s Medical Services, and the greater community to guarantee an increased percentage of infants screened and cured of defects such as Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Syndrome (SCIS), cystic fibrosis (CF), and, hearing loss.
SCIS is an immune deficiency that makes children vulnerable to dangerous infectious diseases including pneumonia and meningitis, during the early months following birth.Early treatment for the disease involves replacing a child’s immune system through blood transplants, a process which has high success rate when detected early. The same may also be said of cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that critically affects the lungs, pancreas, liver and intestines. Despite having no official cure, a diagnosed infant can live unaffected by the condition if it is detected and treated early.
According to the summer 2012 issue of Baby Steps, the Florida Newborn Screening Newsletter, nearly 50 percent of babies that require additional screenings do not complete the program, and are therefore unable to receive a proper diagnosis or treatment The Florida Newborn Screening Program encourages mothers to adhere to their “1-3-6” policy, which suggests babies be screened within a month of their birth, diagnosed within three, and enrolled in an early intervention program by month six, should their results require treatment. It is an initiative based on prevention, detection, and high-quality treatment services.
Haines Promoted To Escambia Chief Deputy
July 20, 2013
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office has promoted Senior Commander Eric Haines to the position of chief deputy, effective today.
Haines has been employed with the Sheriff’s Office since April 1999. He has previously worked in patrol, training, accreditation and has served as captain of the Uniformed Services division.
Most recently, he has served as administrative commander and has been instrumental in negotiations concerning the budget and the transfer of the Escambia County Jail.
“I am happy to serve the Citizens of Escambia County,” said Haines.
In a ceremony Friday, Sheriff David Morgan also promoted Captain Tracy Yuhasz to commander. Yuhasz has been with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office since March of 1993.