Volleyball: Northview Wins First District Contest With Laurel Hill
September 5, 2012
The Northview Lady Chiefs defeated Laurel Hill Tuesday to win their first district match.
Misty Doran had seven kills, while Morgan Payne recorded five kills for Northview. Lilly Townsend and Shelly Mothershed added six assists each for the Lady Chiefs.
Northview lost their first game at Laurel Hill 25-23 but rebounded with wins of 25-16, 25-22, 25-19.
In junior varsity action, Northview defeated Laurel Hill 25-11, 25-18.
The Lady Chiefs will host Central High School on Thursday, with the JV taking the court at 4:30 and the varsity playing at 5:30 p.m.
Pictured: The varsity Northview Chiefs. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
First Lady: Issues Aren’t Political, They’re Personal For Barack Obama
September 5, 2012
First lady Michelle Obama was the headline speaker at the opening day of the Democratic National Convention Tuesday in Charlotte, NC, making a forceful pitch to give her husband more time to complete the job they had elected him to do four years ago.
“In the end, for Barack, these issues aren’t political — they’re personal,” Michelle Obama said. “Barack knows the American Dream because he’s lived it, and he wants everyone, everyone in this country to have the same opportunity.”
In a speech that alternately stilled and electrified delegates, the first lady said President Barack Obama was continuing to push forward with his agenda for change despite setbacks in his first term.
“And he reminds me that we are playing a long game here — and that change is hard, and change is slow, and it never happens all at once,” Michelle Obama said. She also said that her fears that the White House might change Barack Obama had proven unfounded. “Well, today, after so many struggles and triumphs and moments that have tested my husband in ways I never could have imagined, I have seen firsthand that being president doesn’t change who you are,” she said. “No, it reveals who you are.”
Her speech presented a behind-the-scenes look at life in the White House and at the early lives of the Obamas.
“Barack knows the American Dream because he’s lived it…and he wants everyone in this country to have that same opportunity, no matter who we are, or where we’re from, or what we look like, or who we love,” she said. “And he believes that when you’ve worked hard, and done well, and walked through that doorway of opportunity…you do not slam it shut behind you…you reach back, and you give other folks the same chances that helped you succeed.”
Former president Bill Clinton will formally place Barack Obama’s name up for nomination on Wednesday night. Barack Obama will accept his nomination Thursday night during a nationally-televised speech. The speech was planned for the city’s 74,000-seat outdoor football stadium, but the threat of severe weather has moved the event back inside the Time Warner Cable Arena, the site of the rest of the week’s activities.
The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.
GOP Platform Includes ‘Stand Your Ground’ Laws
September 5, 2012
Controversial “stand your ground” laws that have come into the spotlight since the shooting of Trayvon Martin have found their way into the Republican Party’s national platform.
Nestled in the massive document, which outlines in minute detail the national party’s agenda for the next four years, is a provision that expands earlier support for Second Amendment rights to specifically include self-defense outside the home.
“We support the fundamental right to self-defense wherever a law-abiding citizen has a legal right to be…” the plank reads.
Marion Hammer, executive director of United Sportsmen of Florida and past president of the National Rifle Association, said the language more clearly articulates the party’s long-standing support of gun owners’ right to protect themselves without fear that their self-defensive actions would come back to haunt them.
“It does what it is intended to do,” Hammer said of Florida’s 2005 version of the law, which has since passed in a couple other jurisdictions. “It protects law-abiding people who are defending themselves and their families in a lawful manner from the criminal element.”
Recently enacted stand your ground laws are logical extensions of the “Castle Doctrine,” Hammer said, which provides some immunity for residents to defend themselves in their homes against an intruder.
Florida’s law was changed in 2005 to remove a duty to first try to avoid killing an attacker and expanding the protections beyond their homes and into public spaces.
“The ‘Castle Doctrine’ allows law abiding people to protect themselves without being hassled by the criminal justice system,” Hammer said. “That is what the Castle Doctrine, or the stand your ground law, is all about.”
Though law in Florida for several years now, it wasn’t widely discussed until it gained new attention after the February fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford.
George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, faces second degree murder charges in Martin’s death, which has sparked national debate over racial profiling and ’stand your ground’ protections. Martin, who is black, was unarmed.
Zimmerman’s lawyers, have said they would likely use ’stand your ground’ as a defense, though it’s not certain. But they say Zimmerman feared for his life after a scuffle with Martin.
A Quinnipiac University poll taken in May showed registered voters in Florida by a 56-35 percent margin support the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law. The support is strongest among Republicans, who back the current law 78-15, though independent voters also support the law, by a 58-35 percent margin.
Democrats more often oppose it, by a 59-32 percent margin, the poll found.
By The News Service of Florida
Late Season On Farm Peanut Field Day Planned
September 5, 2012
A late season on-farm field day program is planned for Friday at Mickey Diamond Farms in Jay, sponsored by the Santa Rosa County Extension Service, on Friday, September 7.
The event schedule includes:
- 10:30 – 11:30 Meet in the field to discuss and evaluate plots.
- Peanut Fungicide Trial: Visually evaluate 14 different fungicide treatments in large side by side plots.
- Cotton Variety Trial: Visually evaluate 24 different varieties under the same management/production practices of this long-running trial.
- Speakers will include UF IFAS Extension faculty, agribusiness chemical representatives and seed representatives.
- 11:30 – 12:00 Convene at Mickey Diamond’s barn for an industry sponsored meal
For information or meal reservations, contact Janis Simmons at the Santa Rosa County Extension Office at janiskay@ufl.edu or (850) 675-6654
Driver Found Dead After Beulah Crash
September 4, 2012
The driver of a pickup truck was found dead Sunday afternoon after a wreck in Beulah.
The vehicle was discovered in a wooded area on Mobile Highway at Bridlewood Road about 4:15 p.m. Emergency personnel said the accident had happened sometime earlier in the day.
Henry Shirley Davis, age 76 of Robertsdale, was pronounced deceased at the scene of the crash.
The Beulah Station of Escambia Fire Rescue, Escambia County EMS and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the crash.
Flomaton Man Convicted Of Davisville Burglary (With Crime Video)
September 4, 2012
A Flomaton man has been convicted of the June burglary at a Davisville convenience store, but he won’t be headed to jail for the crime.
Curtis Charles Black, 29, was charged with burglary, petit theft and criminal mischief property damage. He was sentenced to three years probation for burglary, and time served for petit theft and criminal mischief property damage. He will also be required to write a letter of apology for the crime.
The entire June 7 burglary at the Korner Kwik Stop (BP) on Highway 97 in Davisville was caught on video, and it was that video posted on NorthEscambia.com that first led deputies to Black as their suspect only a few hours after the crime.
An anonymous tipster saw the video and told deputies that they recognized Black from the video — and the Facebook page where a photo of the getaway vehicle was posted. Later, fingerprints recovered at the scene also fingered Black as the suspect.
The video shows Black busting out the window of the store about 9:20 p.m., just after the store closed at 9 p.m.
- To watch the survellience video, click here.
- For a photo gallery showing the burglary and the investigation, click here.
The video shows Black arriving in a light colored extended cab pickup truck with an emblem over the front windshield. He parks in front of the store and spends several minutes in the truck. Black then exits and takes a hammer to break out the window. He also tried unsuccessfully to break out the door glass. He then jumps through the broken window, rummages around behind the counter and tosses cigarettes and rolls of coins outside. Black also tries unsuccessfully to push buttons in order to open the cash register…all while leaving fingerprints behind.
While inside the store, he is seen using what appears to be towel in his hand in attempt not to leave fingerprints, but he often forgets to cover his hands.
At one point, a towel slips off his head showing most of his face on the video.
An Escambia County Sheriff’s Office crime scene technician recovered blood samples from broken glass and removed multiple fingerprints from the scene.
NorthEscambia.com and courtesy photos, click to enlarge.
Jay Library Closing This Week For Renovations
September 4, 2012
The Jay Library will be closed from this Thursday, September 6 through Saturday, September 16 for renovation.
Other Santa Rosa County libraries in Milton, Pace, Gulf Breeze and Navarre will remain open during the period.
No materials will be due at the Jay Library during the time the library is closed. Library officials request that no materials be returned to the Jay Library during the closure period.
The Jay Library at 5259 Booker Lane will reopen on Monday, September 17 at 9 a.m. and resume regular hours.
Local Couple Attends Republican National Convention
September 4, 2012
At Atmore couple was among those representing Alabama at last week’s Republican National Convention in Tampa.
Jeff and Jodi Peacock were both alternative delegates for GOP nominee Mitt Romney.
Alabama delegates to the GOP Convention heard from breakfast meeting speakers that included former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, RNC chairman Reince Priebus, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, GOP campaign guru Karl Rove and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
Pictured top: Jeff and Jodi Peacock of Atmore at last week’s GOP Republican National Convention in Tampa. Pictured inset: Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaks to the Alabama delegation in Tampa. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Blue Wahoos Fall 8-1 In Season Finale
September 4, 2012
Smokies catcher Anthony Recker drove home four runs, including a three-run blast to left in the seventh inning, as the Pensacola Blue Wahoos fell to Tennessee 8-1 to close out their inaugural season in front of the 40th sellout crowd of the year on Monday afternoon at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
The Smokies finished the second half of the 2012 season with a 37-33 mark , while Pensacola ended their first season of Southern League play with a 34-35 record in the second half, as well s a 68-70 mark overall. The capacity crowd was the 40th hosted by the club this year in 68 home openings, while the Blue Wahoos will finish atop the Southern League in both total (328,147) and average attendance (4,825).
Tennessee plated the game’s first run in the third, taking advantage of a pair of Wahoos fielding miscues. Starting pitcher Austin Kirk reached on an error, and then moved to second on a single, before heading home on the second Pensacola error of the frame to go up 1-0.
The Smokies would then score a trio of tallies in the each of the sixth and seventh frames. CF Rubi Silva drove home two with his single to right, while 3B Matt Cerda capped the sixth inning rally with a run-scoring infielder single, push Tennessee’s advantage to four. After a Blue Wahoos run in the bottom of the frame, the Smokies answered back with Recker’s three-run blast to left.
Pensacola got their lone run in the sixth frame. SS Billy Hamilton led off with a single and moved to second and third on walks, before coming plateward on 2B Brodie Greene’s RBI single to center. Hamilton was held without a steal in the contest, which puts the new single-season steals record at 155 for Hamilton. Before the contest, Hamilton signed both bases he stole to tie and break the previous record set by Vince Coleman, while also accepting his California League Most Valuable Player Award.
Recker (2-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI) and Cerda (2-5, 1 RBI) collected two hits in the contest for Tennessee, while Greene led the Wahoos with three base knocks, in addition to multi-hit efforts from Hamilton (2-4, 1 R) and RF Josh Fellhauer (2-4, 1 2B). Fellhauer finishes the season with a .314 batting average, which puts him in contention for the Southern League batting title, pending how Mississippi OF Todd Cunningham and Montgomery INF Omar Luna fare later tonight.
Blue Wahoos starter Wirfin Obispo (4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO) suffered the loss despite yielding just one run, which was unearned on just two hits in four innings of work. Tennessee LHP Austin Kirk (5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO) earned the victory after giving up the lone earned run on just four hits in his 5.2 frames.
After finishing the year against the Smokies, Pensacola is slated to begin the 2013 campaign at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium on Thursday, April 4 against Tennessee for a five-game series.
By Andrew Green
Overnight House Fire In Byrneville May Have Been Arson
September 3, 2012
An early morning house fire Monday in Byrneville may have been the work of an arsonist.
Authorities are calling the fire in the 1200 block of Tedder Road suspicious, and it is under investigation by the Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office.
The residents had been away for several hours. When they returned to their two story home about 1 a.m., they found it full of smoke and called 911. When firefighters arrived, they found that a living room couch had been on fire and had been extinguished, and someone had tried to start a second fire in closet.
The home suffered heavy smoke damage throughout. Five people, two adults and three children, were left temporally homeless by the blaze.
The incident remains under investigation by the fire marshal and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. Further details have not been released.
The Century, McDavid, Walnut Hill and Molino stations of Escambia Fire Rescue, the Flomaton FIre Department and Escambia County EMS also responded to the blaze.