Kids Invited To 4-H ‘Bites, Bites And Bytes’ Program
July 29, 2012
Escambia County 4-H is inviting kids to participate in the “Bites, Bites and Bytes” day program next month.
The “Bites, Bites and Bytes” program is open to kids ages 9-14. Youth will learn about a variety of animals that bite, they will build their own nutritious snack bites and experience a variety of technology bytes.
The cost of this program is $5, which can be paid the day of or prior to the program. Participating youth will need to bring an iPod, iPhone, iPad or Android device – or bring a friend that has one and share.
Attendees wear clothes that are appropriate for both indoor and outdoor activities. A variety of healthy snacks will be provided during the snack bites portion.Participants must be registered by Friday, August 3.
The program will take place on Tuesday, August 7 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Escambia County Extension office at 3740 Stefani Road in Cantonment.
For more information or to pre-register, contact Angela Hinkle at ahinkle@ufl.edu or (850) 475-5230.
Drug Related: One Killed In Escambia County Robbery
July 29, 2012
A robbery resulted in the shooting death of a 19-year old Escambia County man late Friday night, and investigators say the crime was drug related.
The incident happened in the 4400 block of Deauville Way off Massachusetts Avenue about 11:48 p.m. with deputies responding to a reported robbery of an individual and a possible gunshot victim.
When they arrived, they learned that Matthew Cox and 20-year old Charles D. Boutwell were outside of a house of Deauville Way when when an unidentified black male approached them demanding money. During the robbery, Cox was shot and later pronounced dead at Baptist Hospital.
Boutwell was unharmed.
There have been no arrests reported, and no suspect has been named.
Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Former House Speaker Samson Says State Should Pay Legal Bills
July 29, 2012
Former House Speaker Ray Sansom is suing the state, saying he should be reimbursed for the costs of defending himself against corruption charges that were eventually dropped.
Sansom is asking for $817,518.73, plus interest, for his defense in the case that ultimately drove him from office. Sansom faced charges including grand theft and conspiracy in the case, which stemmed from a 2007 appropriation that was supposed to be for an emergency operations center in Sansom’s district.
Prosecutor Willie Meggs argued at trial that it was really a thinly-disguised effort to build a taxpayer-funded airplane hangar for Jay Odom, a political contributor to Sansom.
Meggs gave up on the case after Circuit Judge Terry Lewis said he didn’t believe prosecutors had made any progress in their attempt to prove a conspiracy by Sansom and Odom to steal taxpayer money, which Meggs said made it difficult to move forward with the case procedurally.
Now, the former speaker is asking taxpayers to foot the bill for Sansom’s hiring of Dobson, Davis & Smith, which billed Sansom anywhere from $275 to $400 an hour for the services of five lawyers as well as $75 an hour for work done by paralegals. Sansom also agreed to pay expenses for the legal team.
In the suit, filed Tuesday, attorneys with another law firm, Broad and Cassel, argue that Sansom has a right to the funds under a common law principle that any public official who successfully defends himself or herself from charges related to his public duties is entitled to have legal costs covered.
The charges against Sansom were “directly related to Plaintiff’s performance of his public duties and arose out of the context of passing an appropriation act that served a public purpose,” the attorneys argue.
“The public official’s entitlement to reimbursement is an obligation which arises independent of statute or contract and is not subject to discretion,” the suit says.
The bills aren’t broken down by Sansom beyond the $50,000 retainer and another $767,518.73 in costs the law firm rang up from April 29, 2009 until the case was dropped in late March 2011.
Meggs’ decision to drop the case ended what was then a four-year saga that toppled Sansom, R-Destin, who had only briefly served as speaker when he decided to take a leave of absence from the job. Amid a growing Republican clamor to resolve the caucus’ leadership situation, Sansom resigned.
Sansom, Odom and former Northwest Florida State College President Bob Richburg agreed to pay restitution for the $310,000 spent on the facility before the college returned the $6 million appropriated for the project.
A spokesman for current House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, said the speaker was out of the state and couldn’t be reached for comment.
In addition to the expenses for the criminal case and interest, Sansom is asking that the state be forced to pay his legal fees for the new lawsuit itself.
By The News Service of Florida
Pensacola Runs Past Huntsville In Front Of Sellout Crowd
July 29, 2012
The Blue Wahoos stole a season-high five bases, including two from Billy Hamilton to increase his season total to 115 as part of a two-hit game, as Pensacola defeated the Huntsville Stars 6-4 in front of a sellout crowd of 5,038 on Saturday night at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
With the victory, the Fish improved to 20-15 in the second half to remain one game behind the Montgomery Biscuits in the South Division, while the Stars fell to 16-19 since the league’s All-Star Break. The capacity crowd was the 34th of the season for the club in their inaugural season of play at the bayfront stadium.
Four of Pensacola’s five stolen bases came in the opening frame, when the Blue Wahoos plated three early tallies. Hamilton got the rally started with a single, before promptly stealing second and third, before coming across on LF Bryson Smith’s sacrifice fly to center. The swiped bags moved the speedster’s total to 115 this year, bringing him to within 30 of Vince Coleman’s record of 145, which was set in 1983.
CF Ryan LaMarre and 1B Donald Lutz each drew free passes later in the inning before they came home on 2B Brodie Greene’s two-run single to left, which gave Pensacola a 3-0 advantage.
Following a single score from the Blue Wahoos in the third, Huntsville got on the board in the fourth thanks to the longball. LF Khris Davis reached on a base hit, before 1B Hunter Morris mashed his 19th homer of the year to left. It was also the fourth roundtripper of the series for Morris, and the Stars’ ninth of the series.
Hamilton would later drive home a run with his second hit of the game in the fourth, bringing in 3B David Vidal after he doubled to left to extend the margin to 5-2, though the Stars mounted a comeback attempt in the late innings. CF Josh Prince singled before 2B Scooter Gennett reached on a fielder’s choice being both came plateward on Kris Davis’ two-run single to center, cutting their deficit to one. The Blue Wahoos however, tacked on an insurance run in their half of the inning thanks to consecutive triples from Lutz and Smith.
Hamilton (2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI) was the lone Blue Wahoos batter to record two hits in the win, while Khris Davis (3-3, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB) collected three base knocks for Huntsville in the defeat. The Pensacola shortstop has now reached base in all 16 of his games for the Fish.
Fish starter Wirfin Obispo (5.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 SO) earned the victory after giving up two earned runs on just two hits while fanning seven, while Stars RHP Jimmy Nelson (2.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO) suffered the loss to fall to 1-1 on the year. Four Blue Wahoos relievers, including Drew Hayes (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 SO), Mark Serrano (1.0 IP), Brian Pearl (0.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER) and Wilkin De La Rosa (1.2 IP, 1 H) fired the last four innings in support of Obispo. Hayes, Serrano and Pearl all earned holds, while De La Rosa notched his first save of the year.
Pensacola will travel on their offday Sunday to Tennessee to begin a ten-game road trip, with five-game series versus the Tennessee Smokies and at Huntsville. The Blue Wahoos will begin their five-game set with the Smokies on Monday, July 30 for a scheduled double header, with the first contest slated to begin at 4:30 p.m.
The next homestand at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium begins on Wednesday, August 8th with a five-game series against the Chattanooga Lookouts, the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
By Andrew Green
Pictured top: Pensacola’s Billy Hamilton stole two bases to extend his total to 115 on Saturday night. Photo by Chris Nelson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Photos: Flag Football Tournament Benefits Youth Football Program
July 29, 2012
An adult flag football tournament was held Saturday in Walnut Hill, with proceeds benefiting the Northwest Escambia youth football program.
For a photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
USA Gets First Gold; Phelps Fails to Medal in Olympics Swimming Opener
July 29, 2012
There was a shocking result in the very first swimming race at the London Olympics.
American swimmer Ryan Lochte won the men’s 400-meter individual medley (4:05.18) by an impressive margin of more than three and a half seconds, capturing the gold medal.
Brazil’s Thiago Pereira took the silver (4:08.86) and Japan’s Kosuke Hagino got the bronze (4:08.94).
While Lochte himself is a star and was one of the favorites, it was the placement of his superstar teammate Michael Phelps that came as a big surprise. The record-setting eight-time Olympic gold medalist in Beijing had narrowly qualified for the final out of the morning heats and ended up fourth.
Phelps did not hide his disappointment.
“It’s frustrating. It’s all I can say,” he admitted. “You know, it’s pretty upsetting. But I think the biggest thing now is just to try to get past this and move forward. I mean I have a bunch of other races and hopefully we can finish a lot better than how we started.”
Lochte said he was surprised Phelps was not next to him on the podium.
“I mean whenever Michael swims he’s always on the medal stand, no matter what,” Lochte noted. “But he did 110%. He gave it everything he had.”
But it was not enough this time, and Lochte won the difficult race that features all four strokes: butterfly, back, breast and freestyle.
“Feels amazing that knowing the last four years I’ve put in that hard work that it finally paid off,” Lochte said during post-race press conference, “and to not only swim for my country but to have my whole entire family there in the stands cheering for me definitely gave me a little bit more of a boost.”
Lochte was asked if Phelps had anything to say to him after the race.
“He came up to me and he congratulated me and he said ‘Way to go’ and ‘we haven’t lost the 400 IM for the USA in a long time, so way to keep it going,” Lochte said.
The first swimming world record of these Games came on the opening night in the women’s 400-meter individual medley. China’s Ye Shiwen clocked 4:28.43 seconds to break the four-year-old mark (4:29.45) by about one second set at the last Olympics by Australian Stephanie Rice, who placed sixth Saturday. American Elizabeth Beisel won the silver (4:31.27) and China’s Lu Xuanxu got the bronze (4:32.91).
China’s Sun Yang took the gold medal in the men’s 400-meter freestyle, and Australia earned gold in the women’s 4×100 meter freestyle relay, with the Netherlands getting silver and the USA bronze.
Earlier Saturday evening, the U.S. men’s archery team upset three-time defending champion South Korea in the semifinals (224-219). But in a dramatic battle for the gold medal, Italy’s last archer scored a 10 when his arrow landed on the ring to give his nation a one-point victory, 219-218.
South Korea won the bronze in a shoot-off against Mexico.
School Shopping? Here Are The Supply Lists You Need
July 28, 2012
School starts Monday, August 20 in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. Here are the school supply lists from each elementary school and middle school in Escambia County, plus the North Escambia area schools in Santa Rosa County.
(High schools typically do not have a general supply list. Students are advised of their supply needs in each class.)
North Escambia Area Schools:
- Bratt Elementary
- Byrneville Elementary
- Central School
- Chumuckla Elementary
- Jim Allen Elementary
- Molino Park Elementary
- Jay Elementary
- Ernest Ward Middle
- Ransom Middle
Complete Escambia County Lists:
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
- Bellview Elementary
- Beulah Elementary
- Blue Angels Elementary
- Bratt Elementary
- Brentwood Elementary
- Byrneville Elementary
- Cook Elementary
- Cordova Park Elementary
- Ensley Elementary
- Ferry Pass Elementary
- Global Learning Academy
- Hellen Caro Elementary
- Holm Elementary
- Jim Allen Elementary
- Lincoln Park Elementary
- Lipscomb Elementary
- Longleaf Elementary
- McArthur Elementary
- McMillan Pre-K
- Molino Park Elementary
- Montclair Elementary
- Myrtle Grove Elementary
- Navy Point Elementary
- Oakcrest Elementary
- Pine Meadow Elementary
- Pleasant Grove Elementary
- Scenic Heights Elementary
- Semmes Elementary
- Sherwood Elementary
- Suter Elementary
- Warrington Elementary
- Weis Elementary
- West Pensacola Elementary
MIDDLE SCHOOLS
- Bailey Middle
- Bellview Middle
- Brown Barge Middle
- Ernest Ward Middle
- Ferry Pass Middle
- Ransom Middle
- Warrington Middle
- Woodham Middle
- Workman Middle
FHP: DUI Suspect Hit Her Own Mother Leaving Bar
July 28, 2012
The woman who hit a pedestrian in a DUI crash Wednesday night in Cantonment actually hit her own mother, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report released Friday.
The accident happened about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday on Highway 95A just north of Highway 29, near the Gee Willies convenience store.
When a FHP trooper arrived on the scene, he found 38-year old Melissa Diane Kettering of Crowndale Road seemingly intoxicated and extremely emotional, according to the report. She had, according to the FHP report, struck a pedestrian identified as her mother, Deborah Kettering.
Deborah Kettering told the FHP that she had gone to Mustangs, a nearby bar, with her daughter. Deborah Kettering said she wanted to leave, so she began walking toward home.
Meanwhile, Melissa Kettering told deputies that when she left the bar, she struck her mother with the left mirror of her vehicle.
The FHP reported that Melissa Kettering refused to finish all of the field sobriety exercises being administered by the trooper. She was placed under arrest for DUI and booked into the Escambia County Jail. She was later released on a $500 bond.
Debroah Kettering’s injuries were not considered serious.
Further details about the accident have not been released.
Pictured above and below: The driver of this Mercury struck a pedestrian — her own mother — on Highway 95A in Cantonment Wednesday night. Pictured inset: The driver was given a series of field sobriety tests. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Smith, click to enlarge.
Federal Court: Man Sentenced For Lying On Bank Loan
July 28, 2012
An Escambia County, Ala., man was sentenced this week in federal court after admitting that he made a false statement on a bank loan application.
Brewton resident Jack Witherspoon Hines pleaded guilty in April to charges that he made a false statement pertaining to a bank loan in violation of federal law.
Before United States District Court Judge Kristi Dubose, Hines was sentenced to three years probation with no fine. A hearing will be held in January to determine how much restitution he owes the Bank of Brewton. He was also ordered to notify the county if his ability to pay restitution changes.
As part of his plea, Hines admitted that he pledged shares of stock as collateral for a loan from the Bank of Brewton when he had already pledged the same stock for a loan from another bank, which maintained the original stock certificate. In so doing, Hines falsely represented that the stock had been pledged as collateral only for the Bank of Brewton loan, according to United States Attorney Kenyen Brown.
Hines faced up to five years imprisonment, plus a fine of $250,000. The case was investigated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
A Hero’s Welcome: Hundreds Welcome Wounded Marine Home (With Photo Gallery)
July 28, 2012
A local Marine was given a hero’s homecoming Friday morning in Pensacola.
Lance Cpl. Joseph Daniel Palmer, along with his wife Becky and his two young children, arrived at Pensacola Aviation just after 11:00 this morning to a large crowd of well wishers, many dressed in patriotic clothing and waving American flags.
“I wasn’t expecting this many people to be here,” Palmer said as he addressed the crowd. “It’s awesome to see that I’m coming home to a community that actually cares.”
“It lifts my spirit, and I know it probably lifts my wife’s spirit as well. All I can say, really, is thank you for your support,” the 26-year old Marine said. “Stay in the fight. Because there’s still Marines over there doing the same thing I was doing and going to come back the same way I come back. Keep them in your prayers. If you see them on the street, don’t hesitate to come say hello.”
“It’s just a blessing. We feel very, very blessed…to be able to come home,” he said, looking at his wife Becky and choking back tears. “Just thank y’all.”
For a photo gallery, click here.
Dignitaries including Congressman Jeff Miller, Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward, Santa Rosa Commissioner Don Salter and Milton Mayor Guy Thompson were on hand to welcome Palmer and his family back to the area. After the ceremony, a motorcade led by law enforcement at the Patriot Guard traveled to a newly renovated home for the Palmers at the Whiting Pines military housing in Milton. The first three months of rent at the home will be paid by the Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Foundation.
Palmer suffered extensive combat related injuries in Afghanistan. His right leg was amputated below the knee, and he endured more than a year of medical rehabilitation in North Carolina.
Palmer is a 2004 graduate of Central High School. He joined the Marines in October 2008 and was deployed to Afghanistan in January 2010. He has several relatives in the North Escambia area, including his sister.
Pictured: Lance Cpl. Joseph Daniel Palmer and his family returned home to Pensacola just after 11:00 Friday morning. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge. Photos include reader submitted photos from WEAR 3, Shaun Moye, Kristi Smith and P.C. Wu.
