County Claims Several Dirt Roads Near Century For Maintenance
April 25, 2013
Escambia County is officially taking over the maintenance of several dirt roads that are located east of Century and west of Old Escambia Creek.
The Escambia County Commission has approved maintenance maps , for a portion of Campbell Road (approximately 1,935 feet in length), Flossie Road (approximately 1,000 feet in length), Old Ferry Road (approximately 1,550 feet in length), Hagan Road (approximately 390 feet in length), and Boat Ramp Road (approximately 240 feet in length). The commission also approved continuing to maintain the roads on which the county does not have a deeded right-of-way.
By maintaining the road for more than seven years, the county is able to assert ownership of certain rights-of-way under Florida Law.
None of the roadways are in the Century town limits.
Pictured: Escambia County has adopted a maintenance map for several dirt roads just east of Century.
Three Area Individuals Named As ‘Great Floridians’
April 25, 2013
Governor Rick Scott has announced the 2013 class of Great Floridians, a prestigious group of men and women who have made significant contributions to the progress and prosperity of Florida. The 23 honorees from the 2013 class includes several North Escambia area natives and residents.
Local area honorees include:
Derrick Brooks
Pensacola native Derrick Brooks played for the Florida State Seminoles football team before going on to play 14 years for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he helped the team win a Super Bowl. Considered one of the best linebackers in NFL history, Brooks is now dedicated to his charity work and education advocacy.
Emmitt Smith
Considered one of the greatest running backs in NFL history, Emmitt Smith played college football for the University of Florida, where he was an All-American. A first-round pick in the 1990 NFL Draft, he played professionally as a running back in the NFL for 15 seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. Smith is the only running back to ever win a Super Bowl championship, the NFL Most Valuable Player award, the NFL rushing crown and the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award all in the same season (1993). He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010.
Gerry Lester “Bubba” Watson, Jr.
Gerry Lester “Bubba” Watson, Jr., born and raised in Bagdad, Florida (near Pensacola), is a professional golfer on the PGA Tour. Watson won the 2012 Masters Tournament after defeating Louis Oosthuizen on the second sudden death playoff hole. The win elevated Watson to a career-high fourth place in the Official World Golf Ranking.
“It is an honor to present the 2013 class of Great Floridians with this prestigious award. Throughout their lives each of them has proven to be a true humanitarian and a compassionate leader in their respective communities. I look forward to seeing how each of them continues to shape Florida’s future generations and help Florida families,” Scott said.
Only 89 individuals since 1981 have been named Great Floridians.
Other members of the 3013 class of Great Floridians include:
Justice Alto Lee Adams
Florida Supreme Court Justice (1940-1951 and 1967-1968) Alto Lee Adams, Sr. served as Chief Justice from 1949 to 1951. With his son, Alto “Bud” Adams, Jr., he founded the Adams Ranch in 1937. Today the Adams Ranch is one of America’s premier cattle breeding and herding operations, and is world renowned for its stewardship of the land, wildlife and water resources.
Charles H. Bronson
Charles H. Bronson is a fifth-generation Florida cattle rancher who served as Florida’s 10th Agriculture Commissioner, from 2001 to 2010. Under his leadership the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services implemented innovative programs to promote Florida agricultural products, protect the state’s natural resources and safeguard Florida agriculture against pests and diseases.
Dr. James Robert Cade
In 1965, Dr. James Robert Cade led a team of researchers at the University of Florida who developed a drink containing salts and sugars that could be absorbed more quickly by athletes, creating the basis for Gatorade. Among Cade’s many inventions are the first shock-dissipating football helmet and a method for treating autism and schizophrenia through diet modification. The Cade Museum for Creativity + Invention in Gainesville is named after him.
Walter Elias “Walt” Disney
With his brother Roy, Walter Elias “Walt” Disney co-founded Walt Disney Productions, one of the world’s best-known motion-picture production companies. The success in 1955 of their Disneyland theme park in California inspired Walt to lay plans for development of the even larger Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Orlando opened on October 1, 1971, forever changing the state.
Tony Dungy
One of the most respected and popular coaches in the National Football League, Tony Dungy is a former professional football player and retired coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Indianapolis Colts. During his seven years leading the Colts, he became the first African American coach to win a Super Bowl.
Justice Richard W. Ervin
Elected as Florida’s Attorney General in 1948, Richard W. Ervin remained in that office until his appointment to the Florida Supreme Court in 1964, where he served as Chief Justice from 1969 to 1971 and sat until 1975. Among his many achievements, he helped create the Florida Highway Patrol, and is most recognized for the role he played in implementing Florida’s desegregation process during the 1960s, ensuring Florida’s leadership in the so-called New South.
Dr. Pedro Jose Greer, Jr.
Physician and Chair of the Department of Humanities, Health and Society at the Florida International University School of Medicine Dr. Pedro José Greer, Jr. is founder of the Camillus Health Concern, which delivers health services to thousands of homeless people and the St. John Bosco Clinic, which serves disadvantaged people in Little Havana.
Bill Gunter
William Dawson “Bill” Gunter, Jr. served as a member of the Florida State Senate from 1966 to 1972, where he supported Florida’s “Government in the Sunshine” law, stronger laws for land and water management and advocated solar energy research and development. He was elected to serve in the United States House of Representatives from 1973 to 1975, and from 1976 to 1988 he served as Florida’s insurance commissioner, treasurer and fire marshal.
Wayne Huizenga
Successful businessman and entrepreneur Wayne Huizenga is the founder of three Fortune 500 corporations. With a single garbage truck in Fort Lauderdale in 1968, he began Waste Management, Inc., followed by the development of two more of the country’s most successful companies, Blockbuster Video and AutoNation. As the initial owner of the Florida Marlins and Florida Panthers, Huizenga is notable for introducing both baseball and hockey to the South Florida area.
Juan Ponce de León
Written records about life in Florida began with the arrival of the Spanish explorer and adventurer Juan Ponce de León. After being granted royal permission to explore lands to the northwest of Puerto Rico, Ponce de León waded ashore on the east coast of Florida on or around April 2, 1513. He called the land La Florida, in honor of the lush plant life and in honor of Pascua Florida, the Eastertime Spanish Feast of Flowers taking place at the time of his arrival.
Charlotte McGuire, MD
Recognized today as the “Mother of the FSU Medical School,” Dr. Charlotte McGuire grew up in Orlando and earned her medical degree in 1944 from the University of Arkansas, where she was the only woman in her class. During her groundbreaking career, she also served as a delegate to the 1957 World Health Conference in London in 1957, and as one of the highest ranking women in the federal government under the Nixon Administration.
General Craig McKinley
Jacksonville native, and recently retired four-star general, General Craig McKinley was the first Chief of the National Guard Bureau to hold a position on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In this capacity, he was a military adviser to the President, the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Council and was the Department of Defense’s official channel of communication to the Governors and to State Adjutants General on all matters pertaining to the National Guard. McKinley is now president of the Air Force Association.
Lilly Pulitzer
Lillian Pulitzer Rousseau was the founder of Lilly Pulitzer, Inc., a company producing clothing and other wares featuring bright, colorful, floral prints. Her signature design was inspired by attempts to cover juice stains after handling produce from her family’s citrus grove. The popular brand, established in the late 1950s and manufactured in Miami and Key West, was revived in the late 1990s and continues to enjoy success and popularity today.
General Norman Schwarzkopf
Four-star general and commander of the U.S. Central Command, General Norman Schwarzkopf graduated from West Point and fought in the Vietnam War. He became a four-star general and commander of the U.S. Central Command, commanding forces in Grenada and the Persian Gulf War. Gen. Schwarzkopf helped found Camp Boggy Creek in Eustis, a camp for seriously ill kids and their families.
Betty Sembler
One of ten founding members of Straight, Inc. a nonprofit drug treatment program, Betty S. Sembler has dedicated the past three decades to fighting the war on drugs. As the founder and president of Save Our Society From Drugs (S.O.S.) and the Drug Free America Foundation, Inc. she has participated in the White House Conference for a Drug Free America, served as a member of the Governor’s Drug Policy Task Force in Florida and as a board member of DARE Florida (Drug Abuse Resistance Education).
Don Shula
As coach of the Miami Dolphins from 1970 to 1995, Don Shula led his team to two Super Bowl victories and to the National Football League’s only perfect season. He holds the NFL record for most career wins with 347.
Patrick D. Smith
A Mississippi-born author who moved to Florida in 1966, Patrick D. Smith has written four novels set in Florida. Smith was inducted into the 1999 Florida Artists Hall of Fame and has been nominated three times for the Pulitzer Prize, in 1973 for Forever Island; in 1978 for Angel City; and in 1984 for his best known and most beloved work, A Land Remembered.
Steve Spurrier
As a player for the University of Florida, Steve Spurrier won the Heisman Trophy in 1966. As a coach, he led the University of Florida Gators football team to six Southeastern Conference championships and a consensus national championship in 1996.
Tim Tebow
As a high school senior quarterback in Ponte Vedre, Tim Tebow was ranked among the top quarterback prospects in the nation. At the University of Florida, he helped the Florida Gators win the national championship during the 2006 college football season. During the 2007 season, he became the first college sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy. In 2008, he led the Florida Gators to their second national championship in three years, and was named the offensive MVP of the national championship game.
Ruth Springer Wedgworth
Ruth Springer Wedgworth came to Palm Beach County in 1930 as the wife of an agricultural scientist. She built a small family farm into one of the state’s most prominent agribusinesses. Known as an innovator, she was a key organizer of the Florida Celery Exchange, and has been named Woman of the Year in Agriculture by Progressive Farmer Magazine, received a Distinguished Service Award from the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association and was named Woman of the Year in Florida Agriculture.
July Pensacola Beach Air Show Will Go On – Without the Blue Angels
April 25, 2013
The annual July air show on Pensacola Beach will go on — without the Navy’s Blue Angels.
The Santa Rosa Island Authority announced Wednesday afternoon that there will be a free air show on Pensacola Beach on July 12 and 13.The show will include 24 aircraft with two warbird jets that perform aerobatics much like those of the Blue Angels, and a concert featuring the R&B-style band “The Tams” from Atlanta at the Gulfside Pavilion.
The show will include OTTO The Helicopter and aerobatic groups Team Aerodynamix and Lima Lima.
The Blue Angels were grounded from air shows for the remainder of the season due to federal budget cuts.
Pictured: Team AeroDynamix will perform at July’s Pensacola Beach Air Show. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
NewsRadio1620 Wins Fourth Edward R. Murrow Award
April 25, 2013
NewsRadio1620 has won an Edward R. Murrow First Place Regional Award for its local coverage of the Newtown, Connecticut, shootings on December 14, 2012.
The coverage was anchored by afternoon talk host Branden Rathert, news anchor Jeff Knox and producer Paul Stadden.
The prestigious annual ward is presented by the Radio Television Digital News Foundation honors excellence in journalism and is named for legendary newsman Edward R. Murrow. The station is now eligible to win a national award for the coverage from the RTDNF. This is the fourth consecutive year the station has won the award.
In 2010, NewsRadio1620 won a regional award for coverage of the Billings murders. Coverage of the 2011 Gulf Oil Spill earned a national award for the station. And Rathert won the regional award in 2012 for his documentary, “ESCO 24/7″, based on the crime fighting efforts of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Tate, Pace Advance To 1-6A Title Game
April 25, 2013
The Tate Aggies and the Pace Patriots will face off for the District 1-6A title tonight.
The No. 1 seed Patriots beat Navarre Wednesday afternoon 5-3, while the No. 2. seed Aggies beat the Escambia Gators 5-2 in the semifinals.
Tonight’s District 1-6A game begins at 7::00 at Tate High School.
Evers Wins Ethanol-Free Gas Victory
April 25, 2013
Sen. Greg Evers is applauding the passage of his bill that allows Florida consumers to choose gas that is ethanol free.
“The bill eliminates the unnecessary power of the government to force Florida citizens to buy and sell ethanol blended gasoline,” Evers said in a statement this afternoon. “It returns that power to the people and restores the power of the free market by giving consumers and retailers a choice regarding what fuel they wish to buy.”
But critics of the bill were equally displeased. The bill passage prompted a joint statement from a joint statement, Bob Dinneen, President and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, and Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy:
“Today’s Senate vote was a pyrrhic victory for ethanol detractors. It substantively changes nothing because the state mandate was redundant. The federal Renewable Fuel Standard will still apply and, thankfully for consumers who will continue to see savings at the pump, ethanol and other renewable fuels will be sold in Florida,” the Renewable Fuels Association said in a press release. “All this bill has done is put politics and oil industry profits ahead of economic opportunity and jobs in the state. The only result of this legislation will be a loss of jobs and economic opportunity in Florida. Florida has made it clear — biofuels and the valuable jobs that are created in the renewable fuels industry are no longer welcome in Florida.”
First Degree Murder, Arson Indictments In Beating, Burning Death
April 25, 2013
An Escambia County Grand Jury has indicted Anthony Pressley, Kiesha Pugh, and Gregory Williams for arson and first degree murder in death of Melinda McCormick.
McCormick’s body was found beaten and burned on March 31, 2013, at Melei Apartments on Mobile Highway.
Deputies say an autopsy shows McCormick was hit 40 times with a hammer, lead pipe and crow bar. She was still alive when her bed sheets were set on fire, according to the State Fire Marshal’s Office.
All three defendants have confessed, investigators said. They were caught on video headed to and away from the area of the apartment.
House Votes For Tighter Controls For FHSAA
April 25, 2013
The nearly century-old organization that oversees high school athletics in Florida may be entering its final years of eligibility.
The House approved a measure (HB 1279) on Wednesday, in a bi-partisan 89-26 vote, that gives student-athletes more flexibility as to where they play and requires the Florida High School Athletic Association to more closely follow the wishes of the Legislature or be replaced.
The Senate must still take up the measure, either taking up the House bill on the floor or take up a nearly similar proposal (SB 1164) offered by Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland.
Backers of the changes say the overhaul is needed as the FHSAA has used its authority in an arbitrary manner that has overreached when investigating student eligibility and claim the measure could help prevent some students from dropping out by expanding athletic opportunities.
“One hundred years of being an organization doesn’t make you right, it does make you powerful,” said Rep. Elizabeth Porter, R-Lake City.
Opponents contend the matter is a “playground fight” that has been elevated to the Capitol chambers by Lakeland-area lawmakers due to fines imposed against Lakeland High School after students were ruled ineligible to play for infractions ranging from falsifying addresses to receiving impermissible benefits that included free rent.
The opponents say the legislation will also invite frequent transfers, and force administrators and teachers to continually readjust academic plans for students who jump campus to campus.
“This is an awful, awful bill,” said Rep. Kevin Rader, D-Delray Beach. “It’s important we have a good athletic association. To turn it upside down and make it a free agency is something that is disgusting.”
The measure places new restrictions on investigations by the FHSAA, expands the ability for students to transfer schools during the school year, alters the makeup of the board of directors, would give school districts more say over athletic regulations in each county, and sets a 2017 date to sunset the 93-year-old organization.
The overhaul gives charter and home school students more opportunities to play for public and private school teams, gives students the right to try out at schools for a sport that is not offered by their own school, and expands representation on the FHSAA board to charter school, home school and non-public school members and the Florida Athletic Coaches Association.
“We’re not messing with anything that we’re not already messing with currently in law,” Stargel said. “We already set up who the board is. We have the authority to set up who the board is. We already have the ability to dictate bylaws. We’re not changing that now.”
The bill also requires the Legislature to replace the FHSAA by July 2017. If no replacement is found, the commissioner of education could extend the deadline by four years.
By The News Service of Florida
Five-Run Seventh Pushes Pensacola’s Wahoos Past Jackson
April 25, 2013
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos broke open a 3-3 tie with a five-run seventh against the Jackson bullpen and went on beat the Generals 8-4 on Wednesday afternoon. The win gave Pensacola its second series victory of the season, but just its first since the opening homestand against Tennessee.
The Wahoos used a balanced attack to batter a beleaguered Jackson pitching staff. Eight of the nine Pensacola starters recorded at least one base knock with three players driving in multiple runs.
Theo Bowe started the decisive seventh inning with a one-out double, his second of the game, and came around to score the go-ahead run on a Brodie Greene single. Donald Lutz then provided the biggest blow of the frame with a two-run triple to center to open up a three-run cushion. Steve Selsky added an RBI single and scored the final run of the inning on a wild pitch.
It was Pensacola’s second big inning of the game as the Wahoos erased an early 2-0 deficit with a three-run third, thanks in part to two Jackson errors. The Wahoos got an RBI single from Ryan LaMarre, a bases-loaded walk from Greene and a sac fly from Selsky to take a 3-2 lead.
Jackson tied the game at three with a Steven Proscia solo homer in the sixth off Chad Rogers, but the Wahoos immediately responded with the five-run seventh to take the lead for good.
Rogers earned his second win of the season by going seven strong frames, yielding three runs (two earned) on five hits while striking out five.
Moises Hernandez took his second loss of the series for the Generals as he gave up four runs in just one-third of an inning. Starter James Gillheeney went six innings for Jackson and gave up three runs (one earned) on three hits before departing with the game tied.
Now halfway through their 10-game road trip, the Blue Wahoos trek across the state of Tennessee to open a five-game series with the Tennessee Smokies tomorrow night. Ryan Dennick (1-0, 2.65) will start for the Wahoos against Tennessee righty Dallas Beeler (1-2, 4.07). First pitch from Smokies Park is scheduled for 6:15 p.m.
Escambia Academy Advances in AISA Playoffs
April 25, 2013
Escambia Academy have advanced to the second round of the Alabama Independent School Association playoffs.
The Cougars swept Kingwood Christian behind strong pitching and timely hitting with wins of 8-2 and 6-0. Michael Thompson pitched in the first game, striking out 14 and allowing only one hit. Reid Bell pitched the second game, striking out 16 and allowing six hits.
Hitters for Escambia Academy were Helton 1-7, Bell 2-5, Thompson 3-7, McAnally 1-3, Sawyer 3-5, Gorum 1-5, and Clark 2-5.
Thursday games will be at 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., with another game on Friday, if needed.