Night Of Music And Comedy To Benefit Cpl. J.R. Spears Memorial Scholarhip Fund
June 28, 2013
The Cpl. J.R. Spears Memorial Scholarship Fund will present a night of music and comedy Saturday at Tate High School featuring Grand Ole Opry Comedian T. Bubba Bechtol. Special guest will be entertainer and 2010 Tate High School graduate Leslie Ann Godwin.
Doors open at 6:30 Saturday night; the show begins at 7:00. Admission is $10, with all proceeds going toward the Cpl. J.R. Spears Memorial Scholarship Fund at Pensacola State College. Concessions will be on sale during the show.
After the show, birthday cake will be served to celebrate Spears’ birthday, which is Sunday.
For tickets, call Tim at (850) 324-9907. Tickets will also be sold at the door.
Tate Grad Hoffman Signs Golf Scholarship With Faulkner
June 28, 2013
Tate High School 2013 graduate Jared Hoffman has signed a scholarship to play golf at Faulkner University in Montgomery. Hoffman is pictured with Athletic Director David Venettozzi. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Scott Signs Virtual Education Bill
June 28, 2013
Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday signed a virtual education bill meant to spur some kinds of online courses. The measure (HB 7029) aims to encourage the use of massive open online courses, known as MOOCs, in Florida schools. Out-of-state companies would be able to provide the courses under the change, and “blended” courses that include some online instruction and some classroom time would be exempt from class-size requirements.
Supporters of the bill said it will help Florida adapt its education system to take advantage of new technology. But opponents criticized the measure for allowing out-of-state providers to qualify for the programs.
The bill was one of four signed Thursday by Scott.
Others included a transportation measure (HB 85) that allows the use of public-private partnerships for county road projects and extends the terms for leases that the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority may enter into from 40 years to 99 years. Another bill (SB 1784) allows the Military Base Protection Program to secure non-conservation lands to serve as added buffers to protect military installations.
Deputies Search For Shooter
June 28, 2013
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is seeking information about a shots fired incident that occurred Wednesday afternoon at a convenience store in the 2900 block of West Jackson Street.
Deputies made contact with witnesses who said two black males got into a scuffle before one pulled a gun and fired at the other. Surveillance video captured an image of the individual who investigators believe is the shooter inside of the store, as well as the suspected shooter’s vehicle outside of the store.
Braves Slip By Wahoos
June 28, 2013
The Mississippi Braves took their second straight game against the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, 3-2, on Thursday night at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium in front of a capacity crowd of 5,038. It was the 15th sellout of the season. Despite the loss, the Blue Wahoos remain just a game out of first place behind the Jacksonville Suns.
Daniel Renken got the start for Pensacola and gave up a solo homer to Jose Martinez with two outs in the first inning to give the Braves a 1-0 lead. Renken settled down in the next couple frames before the Wahoos tied it up in the last of the third on an RBI groundout from Yorman Rodriguez.
Mississippi took the lead for good, though, in the fourth. After a leadoff walk to Edward Salcedo, Christian Marrero blasted an RBI double to right-center to put the Braves on top 2-1. Marrero would come around to score on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Barrett Kleinknecht.
Pensacola would get a run right back in the last of the fourth inning on a leadoff homer from Marquez Smith, his first blast as a Blue Wahoo. That would be all of the offense though, as neither team would scratch across a run in the final five frames.
The Wahoos had the tying run in scoring position in the fifth and sixth innings but weren’t able to push across the tying tallies against the best pitching staff in the league. Gus Schlosser (6-2) picked up the victory for Mississippi by allowing just two runs on five hits in five innings. James Hoyt, Andrew Russell, and Mark Lamm allowed just one hit over the final four frames with Lamm picking up his 10th save of the year.
Renken fell to 2-6 for the Wahoos, despite a quality start. He allowed three runs on five hits in six innings while striking out six.
In his return to Pensacola, outfielder Donald Lutz picked up two hits to lead the Wahoos’ offense. Yorman Rodriguez singled in the fifth to extend his Double-A hitting streak to nine games and overall hitting streak (combined with High-A Bakersfield) to 18 games.
The two teams will square off in the rubber match of the five-game set on Friday night. Josh Smith (5-6, 3.65) gets the call for Pensacola against Mississippi’s Aaron Northcraft (3-5, 3.86).
story by Kevin Burke
‘I’m In Trouble’ – Molino Man Searching For Lost Wedding Band, Keys
June 27, 2013
A Molino man is asking for the public’s help in finding and returning items that include his wedding band.
He had placed his keys, wedding band attached, on the hood of his vehicle and drove off last Tuesday morning. He believes the keys likely fell off the vehicle in the area of Oreo Drive, the Highway 97 and 95A intersection or Bet Raines Road.
“Help, I’m in trouble,” he said about losing the wedding band. He’s been married for 29 years and described the ring as just a “plain man’s wedding band” that sure means a lot to him and his wife. “I’d sure like to get it back.”
The keys included fobs for a Cadillac and a GMC, several keys and the all-important wedding band.
Anyone finding the items is asked to call (850) 449-6080. A reward is offered.
Disabled Man Struck, Killed By Vehicle On Nine Mile Road
June 27, 2013
A disabled man was killed Wednesday night when he was struck by a car on Nine Mile Road.
The accident happened just after 9:00 on Nine Mile near Beulah Road, in front of a Tom Thumb, according the Florida Highway Patrol. John T. Cowan, 67, was in an electric mobility-assistance scooter when he pulled into the path of a 2008 Kia driven by 52-year old Robert Dunn of Seminole, Ala., according to the FHP. Cowan was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Dunn was not injured.
The Florida Highway Patrol is continuing their investigation.
Relay For Life Rummage Sale Saturday
June 27, 2013
There will be a Relay for Life rummage sale this Saturday from 7-11 a.m. this Saturday. The sale will take place at the American Cancer Society office at 5401 Corporate Woods Drive, Suite 100, in Pensacola.
Proceeds will go toward each participating Relay for Life team’s fundraising goal for the American Cancer Society.
Blue Angels Team Members Takes Part In Century Storytime
June 27, 2013
A member of the Blue Angels took part in an afternoon storytime Wednesday at the Century Branch Library. PR1 Jeremy Green, a parachute rigger first class for the Blue Angels’ Life Support team, read a story to the packed library crowed and shared stories about his time in the Navy and with the Blue Angels. Green is from Spring Hill, AK, and enlisted in the Navy in February 2002 as an aircrew survival equipmentman.
Special storytimes will continue with a member of the Blue Angels at area libraries as follows:
- Thursday, June 27 at 10:30 A.M.,: Tryon Branch, 1200 Langley Ave.
- Saturday, June 29 at 2:30 P.M.,: Westside Branch, 1580 W. Cervantes St.
- Tuesday, July 2 at 10:30 A.M.,: Southwest Branch, 12248 Gulf Beach Hwy.
Groups of 20 or less are invited to contact their favorite library to inquire if seating is available for attendance at this very special Blue Angels storytime event.
Pictured top and below: Blue Angels team member PR1 Jeremy Green reads to children Wednesday afternoon at the Century Branch Library. Pictured inset: Enjoyig the story. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Supreme Court Asked To Block Florida’s Death Row Fast Track Law
June 27, 2013
Attorneys representing Death Row inmates want the Florida Supreme Court to block the controversial “Timely Justice Act” that is intended to reduce final delays in carrying out the death penalty.In a challenge filed Wednesday, the attorneys contend that sections of the law signed June 14 by Gov. Rick Scott are unconstitutional.
They allege, in part, that the law would violate the separation of powers by imposing obligations on lawyers that conflict with judicially-determined rules. They also say it would alter the court’s authority to govern capital post-conviction litigation and would violate due process and equal protection.
“It is clear that, when the Legislature restricts this court’s authority to reach final ruling on constitutional matters by creating a time-certain limit on capital litigation and rejects procedural vehicles recognized by this court as necessary components to ensuring the constitutionality of capital convictions and death sentences, it violates this court’s authority to be the ultimate interpreter of the Florida Constitution,” said the lawsuit.
Scott’s office has repeatedly contended that the law, which takes effect July 1, doesn’t “fast-track” the death penalty process and will not increase the risk of executing innocent people as some critics have argued. Instead, Scott’s office says the bill makes “technical amendments to current law and provides clarity and transparency to legal proceedings.”
The measure includes several changes in the death-penalty process. As an example, the act requires the clerk of the Florida Supreme Court to notify the governor when a Death Row inmate’s state and federal court appeals have been completed. The governor would then have 30 days to issue a death warrant if the executive clemency process has finished. The warrant would require that the execution be carried out within 180 days.
In the conclusion of the new challenge, the attorneys noted that during the House floor debate some legislators discussed that the law would likely result in additional delays “by creating constitutional deficiencies in the system, and that courts would have to issue stays to review the act’s functioning.”
by The News Service of Florida