Hamilton Steals Three As The Pensacola Blue Wahoos Fall 7-4
August 6, 2012
The Huntsville Stars broke a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the seventh by scoring a pair of runs on back-to-back wild pitches during an attempted intentional walk to Hunter Morris on their way to a 7-4 win Sunday night at Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville, Ala. The win is the Stars’ second straight over the Wahoos in the five-game series. Blue Wahoos shortstop Billy Hamilton stole three more bases giving him 125 for the season. He is now alone in third place on the all-time single-season Minor League Baseball stolen base list.
Despite the loss, Pensacola remains just two games out of first place in the Southern League South Division after the Montgomery Biscuits lost to the Jacksonville Suns.
As they did in the first two games of the series, the Blue Wahoos scored first with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. Ryan LaMarre put Pensacola ahead with an RBI single bringing home Hamilton from third. Josh Fellhauer came home later in the inning on a groundout by David Vidal.
After getting a run in the second inning, Huntsville took its first lead with a pair of runs in the fourth. Josh Prince doubled home Brock Kjeldgaard and Morris to make it a 3-2 game. Pensacola responded the next inning when the Blue Wahoos got three straight two-out extra-base hits. Beau Mills started it with a double. Vidal traded places with him a batter later to tie the game. Then, he scored when Brodie Greene tripled to give the Wahoos a 4-3 advantage.
After the Stars tied it with a sacrifice fly in to bottom of the sixth inning, they moved in front for good in the seventh. With runners at first and second base, a passed ball was charged to Wahoos catcher Tucker Barnhart moving runners up to second and third with one out. This opened first base with Morris at the plate, so an intentional walk was called for to load the bases. The next two pitches from reliever Josh Ravin were thrown to the backstop allowing both runners to score giving the Stars a 6-4 advantage. They added another run in the eighth on their way to the win.
Ravin took the loss after giving up the two seventh inning runs, though only one was earned. Brian Garman worked two scoreless innings out of the Stars bullpen in the winning effort. Brandon Kintzler worked a scoreless ninth to earn the save.
Offensively, Greene and Vidal continued their hot hitting with two hits each. Andrew Means also had a two-hit game for the Wahoos.
The series continues on Monday with RHP Daniel Corcino (7-5, 3.09) getting the start for Pensacola against RHP Johnny Hellweg (1-0, 0.00) for Huntsville. First pitch is set for 6:43 p.m. from Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville.
By Tommy Thrall
Pictured: Billy Hamilton had three steals on Sunday night giving him 125 for the season. Photo by Chris Nelson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Shooting at Wisconsin Sikh Temple Leaves At Least Seven Dead
August 5, 2012
Police in Wisconsin say at least seven people were killed in a shooting Sunday at a Sikh temple in a suburb of Milwaukee. A police officer responding to the shooting was wounded in an exchange with the gunman, who is among the dead.
The shooting occurred Sunday morning as dozens of worshippers gathered at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek.
Greenfield Police Chief Bradley Wentlandt says one of the first officers to respond to the incident encountered a gunman, who opened fire. “The first officer on the scene is a 20-year law enforcement veteran, an extremely accomplished tactical officer. When he arrived on the scene, he engaged an active shooter outside of the temple. Multiple rounds were exchanged. The officer was shot multiple times,” he said.
Wentlandt says officers killed the alleged shooter and that four people were found dead inside the temple.
Friends and family members of worshippers told local media that several people, including the president of the temple, were being treated for gunshot wounds at area hospitals.
A man who said his uncle was among the wounded, told reporters that Sunday services are among the biggest weekly gatherings at the temple. “The gunman came earlier than when most people come, so I think, relatively, damages were somewhat limited. But I mean, if this had happened an hour or two later, God knows how many people would be hurt or dead,” he said.
Sunday’s shooting put other Sikh temples in the area on a heightened state of alert, with local police departments guarding other temples as a precaution.
The Sikh Temple of Wisconsin’s website says about 350 to 400 people worship at the site. The Sikh community in southeastern Wisconsin is relatively small, and includes a total of about 3,000 families.
There were isolated incidents of violence against Wisconsin Sikhs in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
[VOA]
Cantonment Woman Charged After Wreck; 6-Year Old Seriously Injured
August 5, 2012
A Cantonment woman was charged after a wreck on I-10 in Santa Rosa County late Friday night.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 39-year old Julie Ann Yonker was eastbound on I-10 near the 34 mile marker just after 11 p.m. when she suddenly slowed down in front of another vehicle and impeded traffic.
In order to avoid a collision, William Lester Morrill, age 37 of Crestview, veered off the roadway before striking a tree. Morrill and four other people in his pickup suffered minor injuries, while a six-year old passenger was seriously injured.
Yonker was charged with careless driving/impeding flow of traffic, no proof of insurance and failure to display registration.
Youth On A Mission
August 5, 2012
Youth from a Texas church teamed up with youth from a Molino church last week on a mission to make an impact across Escambia County.
Over 100 youth and their adult leaders from Highland Baptist Church in Molino and Friendship Baptist Church of Cleburne, TX, worked together and served in “Mission Molino” from Molino to Pensacola Beach.
For a photo gallery, click here.
On the first day of Mission Molino, the youth teamed up with Barefoot Ministries of Gulf Shores at Pensacola Beach. The youth passed out free water with Gospel tracts, gave away free Bibles and New Testaments, shared the Gospel with salvation bracelets, painted faces and even held a Bible story sand sculpting contest.
The second day of Mission Molino saw the youth working at Molino Park Elementary School. They help prepare the campus for the first day of school by moving items, cleaning, sweeping, washing windows, pulling weeds and many other tasks to prepare Molino Park for the return of students.
One the third day, the youth worked at the homes of widowed and elderly residents around Molino. The youth performed yard work, planted flowers, trimmed trees and shrubs and more.
Mission Molino concluded with the Highland members showing their Texas friends some of the local sites — Ft. Pickens and the Naval Aviation Museum, along with some beach fun — including a Beach baptism service.
Each evening of the week, the students enjoyed a meal prepared by Highland volunteers and a time of worship.
Pictured top: Mission Molino students work to beautify the campus at Molino Park Elementary School. Pictured inset: The students worked around the homes of elderly community members. Pictured below: Mission Molino students at Pensacola Beach. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century To Hold Fair Housing Workshop Monday
August 5, 2012
The Town of Century will hold a fair housing information workshop in conjunction with a regular town council meeting Monday night.
The workshop and council meeting will begin at 7 p.m at the Century Town Hall, 7995 North Century Boulevard.
For more information, call Leslie Gonzalez at (850) 256-3208.
Flomaton Lions Flip Pancakes For School Uniforms
August 5, 2012
The Flomaton Lions Club is turning pancakes into dollars to purchase school uniforms for needy Flomaton students. The club will present a check for uniforms following a pancake supper fund raiser. The supper was coordinated by the Flomaton Lions Club and new LEO Club at Flomaton High School. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Exempt Olympians From Taxes On Their Gold Medals?
August 5, 2012
Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) has introduced The Olympic Tax Elimination Act, a bill that would exempt U.S. Olympic medal winners from paying taxes on their hard-earned medals. Currently, Olympians who win medals also receive honorariums in the form of cash payments of $25,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze, with the IRS collecting taxes on these amounts.
“Our tax code is a complicated and burdensome mess that too often punishes success, and the tax imposed on Olympic medal winners is a classic example of this madness,” said Rubio. “Athletes representing our nation overseas in the Olympics shouldn’t have to worry about an extra tax bill waiting for them back home.
“We need a fundamental overhaul of our tax code, but we shouldn’t wait any time we have a chance to aggressively fix ridiculous tax laws like this tax on Olympians’ medals and prize money,” he added. “We can all agree that these Olympians who dedicate their lives to athletic excellence should not be punished when they achieve it.”
The Olympic Tax Elimination Act, would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to eliminate the tax on Olympic medals and prize money won by United States athletes. If enacted into law, the gross income of Olympic athletes “shall not include the value of any prize or award won by the taxpayer in athletic competition in the Olympic Games.” This would apply to prizes and awards received after December 31, 2011.
Michael Phelps Ends Olympic Career With 18th Gold, 22nd Medal
August 5, 2012
American superstar swimmer Michael Phelps closed out his brilliant career with a gold medal, swimming the butterfly leg of the victorious U.S. men’s 4×100 meter medley relay team.
It was the final race in the pool at these Summer Games and gave Phelps a remarkable all-time Olympics career record of 18 gold medals among his remarkable 22 total. No one else has more than nine golds.
“Through the ups and downs through my career, I’ve still been able to do everything that I’ve wanted to accomplish. And I’ve been able to do things that nobody has ever done, and that’s been something I’ve always I wanted to do,” he said.
The previous all-time total for Olympic medals was 18 held by former Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina.
At his post-race news conference, Phelps was asked how he would describe his place in Olympic history, and he shared a conversation he had with longtime coach Bob Bowman.
“I was in the warm-down pool and I said to Bob, I’ve looked up to Michael Jordan my whole life because he’s done something that no one has ever done and he is the greatest basketball player to ever play the game,” he said. “And I said, ‘you know what, I’ve been able to become the best swimmer of all-time, and we got here together.’ And I thanked him. And it was funny, when I got out of the pool, he was like, ‘that’s not fair.’ And I said, ‘What’s not fair about it?’ And he goes, ‘you were in the pool. I was like ‘yeah, my tears could hide behind my goggles. Yours are streaming down your face.’”
At age 27, Michael Phelps says he is done with competitive swimming.
At age 17, Missy Franklin is the rising star of the U.S. women’s swim team. She captured her fourth gold medal of the Olympics by helping lead the U.S. to victory in the women’s 4×100 meter medley relay. The quartet posted a time of 3:52.05 seconds, breaking the world record set by China in 2009 by .14 seconds.
The U.S. women gave each other a big group hug on the pool deck after the win, and Franklin said they were almost at a loss for words.
“I don’t really think we said anything. I think just that hug said it all, just being together and being in each other’s arms and knowing that it was done and our Olympic experience of 2012 was over. And we couldn’t be more happy with how we finished it, just knowing that we were all there together, just savoring that moment of being world record holders and gold medalists for our country,” she said.
The other world record on the final night came in the men’s 1,500 meter freestyle, China’s Sun Yang clocked 14:31.02, bettering his own mark of last year (14:34.14) by more than three seconds.
The gold medal in the men’s 50 meter freestyle went to Dutchman Ranomi Kromowidjojo.
The United States dominated the London Olympics swimming competition. The American men’s and women’s teams each won eight gold medals, or half of the races contested. Together they won 30 total medals of the 96 handed out. Seventeen countries in all won swimming medals.
There are still two more swimming contests, but they are the 10-kilometer marathon events that take place in open water. The women compete Thursday and the men on Friday.
Track & Field in Full Swing
Meanwhile, British runner Mo Farah has won the 10,000-meters competition, holding off American training partner Galen Rupp and Ethiopia’s Tariku Bekele, who finished third.
Earlier, a packed track and field stadium roared as Briton Jessica Ennis clinched the heptathlon competition with a win in the 800 meters. Britain’s medal tally places it third in the overall standings, behind the United States and China.
History Making
South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius also strode into Olympic history Saturday, becoming the first amputee runner to compete in the Games.
Pistorius, who wears special prosthetics on both legs, finished second in a preliminary heat of the men’s 400 meters. He qualified for the semi-finals.
Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce retained her Olympic title by winning the gold medal in the women’s 100-meter race. She clocked 10.75 seconds to beat American Carmelita Jeter, who crossed the finish line at 10.78 seconds. Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell-Brown took the bronze in 10.81.
[VOA]
Stars Answer Wahoos Rally
August 5, 2012
In a game that only had two combined runs through the first 10 innings, nine runs were scored in the 11th by the Pensacola Blue Wahoos and Huntsville Stars combined. The Stars plated five of those in the bottom of the inning to down the Blue Wahoos 6-5 at Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville, Ala. on Saturday night. After the Wahoos plated four in the top of the inning, including two on a pinch-hit home run by Andrew Means, the Stars plated five capped by a three-run walk-off home run by Hunter Morris. It was his 21st home run of the season.
The Wahoos claimed an early 1-0 lead when Beau Mills doubled home Josh Fellhauer in the top of the first inning. It stayed that way until the seventh.
The Stars put together several threats against Blue Wahoos starter Tony Cingrani through his five innings of work, but the lefty was finished after five scoreless frames and more than 100 pitches. He walked four and fanned four while giving up four hits but he kept the Stars scoreless. He didn’t end up factoring into the decision.
Drew Hayes took over in the sixth and worked a perfect inning. In the seventh, T.J. Mittelstaedt blasted a pinch-hit solo home run over the right field fence off Hayes to tie the game at 1-1.
The two teams traded zeros until Pensacola’s four-run 11th. It all started with a two-out single by Brodie Greene to keep the inning going. He stole second base, which allowed him to score on a single by Tucker Barnhart breaking the 1-1 deadlock. A batter later, Means blasted his pinch-hit homer to left extending the lead to 4-1. Billy Hamilton followed with a base hit and advanced around the bases on a series of three throwing errors by the Stars to make it 5-1.
Huntsville answered in the bottom of the inning. It all started with a leadoff walk to pinch hitter Adam Weisenburger. After a strikeout, Mittelstaedt singled home Weisenburger to make it a three-run game. Josh Prince and Jean Segura followed with back-to-back singles plating Mittelstaedt. With runners at first and second, Morris hammered the game winner over the left-center field wall giving the Stars the 6-5 win to even the series at a game apiece.
Despite allowing all four Blue Wahoos runs in the 11th, Kyle Heckathorn (4-10) was credited with the win. Of the four runs he allowed, three were earned. Mark Serrano (6-4) allowed all five Stars runs in the 11th to suffer the loss.
Greene’s hit in the 11th was his third hit of the game closing out a 3-for-4 game. Fellhauer (2-for5) and Barnhart (2-for-4) also contributed a pair of hits in the contest.
The two squads will square off in the third game of the series on Sunday. RHP Kyle Lotzkar (4-5, 5.30) will take the hill for Pensacola against RHP Josh Stinson (11-6, 3.25) for Huntsville. First pitch is set for 4:03 p.m. from Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville.
By Tommy Thrall
Photo by Chris Nelson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Locals Residents Place In Bushwacker 5K Run/Walk
August 5, 2012
Several North Escambia residents ran or walked the Bushwacker 5K Saturday on Pensacola Beach.
There were 1301 finishers – 616 male and 685 female.
North Escambia area finishers were:
- 19 – Tyler Hartley , Cantonment – 18:49:00
- 33 – Roderick Brown , Cantonment – 43:49:00
- 34 – Kathy Brown , Cantonment – 43:49:00
- 35 – Randy Aufrance , Cantonment – 43:50:00
- 60 – Cody Wolfe , Jay – 21:30:00
- 64 – Teresa Bryan , Cantonment – 47:33:00
- 86 – Kathy Howard , Cantonment – 50:39:00
- 95 – Erin Brewster , Cantonment – 51:20:00
- 100 – Valisa Hedgepeth , Molino – 51:39:00
- 101 – Hillary Smith , Jay – 51:40:00
- 112 – Brandy Hart , Cantonment – 52:56:00
- 128 – Brandy Hendrix , Cantonment – 55:53:00
- 141 – Jan Hondzinski , Jay – 57:27:00
- 151 – Caty Andrews , Cantonment – 58:08:00
- 153 – Lindsey Roberts , Atmore – 58:19:00
- 163 – Christi Erickson , Cantonment – 1:03:21
- 164 – Ami Dowell , Cantonment – 1:03:56
- 256 – Randall Kelley , Jay – 26:39:00
- 479 – Heather Johnson , Atmore – 29:59:00
- 485 – Jake Bondurant , Atmore – 30:03:00
- 514 – Katie Hagensick , Cantonment – 30:36:00
- 525 – Aaron Chatraw , Cantonment – 30:57:00
- 529 – Shirley Raney , Jay – 30:59:00
- 530 – Beth Anne Whitfield , Jay – 31:00:00
- 538 – Anthony Starling , Jay – 31:09:00
- 582 – Katie Smith , Atmore – 32:08:00
- 626 – Mary Henke , Cantonment – 32:56:00
- 649 – Jay Wright , Molino – 33:13:00
- 693 – Amy Knight , Atmore – 34:04:00
- 717 – D Floyd , Molino – 34:32:00
- 742 — Buck Lowery , Jay — 35:12:00
- 748 — Lisa May , Jay — 35:21:00
- 756 — Madison Whitfield , Jay — 35:30:00
- 787 — Robert Bath , Molino — 35:59:00
- 813 — Regan Howard , Cantonment — 36:42:00
- 826 — Jade Brown , Cantonment — 36:59:00
- 827 — Richard Howard , Cantonment — 37:00:00
- 831 — Molly Fore , Flomaton — 37:06:00
- 848 — Robyn Hoffman , Cantonment — 37:36:00
- 880 — Lori Eddins , Cantonment — 38:40:00
- 882 — Brian Smith , Atmore — 38:42:00
- 891 — Stephanie Godfrey , Cantonment — 39:01:00
- 935 — Miranda Roberts , Jay — 41:02:00
- 937 — Kayla Wilson , Jay — 41:03:00
- 938 — Britney Phillips , Jay — 41:03:00
- 941 — Krista Boughton , Jay — 41:06:00
- 942 — Julie Roberts , Jay — 41:06:00
- 962 — Kim Golden , Cantonment — 42:04:00
- 994 — MacEe Anders , Jay — 43:19:00
- 1022 — Lisa Sellers , Jay — 45:19:00
- 1110 — Brian Fermin , Cantonment — 51:29:00
- 1113 — Kimberly Thomas , McDavid — 51:50:00
- 1114 — Amber Andrews , Cantonment — 51:50:00
- 1133 — Jessica Gordon , Cantonment — 59:07:00