Everyone Wins: Welcome To The Miracle League
March 19, 2012
Every game ends in a tie. Every player hits; every player scores. There are no strikeouts, no errors. Everybody wins.
Welcome to the Miracle League.
Olivia Bush, 8, of Cantonment is blind, able to see just a little light with her left eye. She suffered frequent seizures until a portion of her brain was removed in February of 2010 at Miami Children’s Hospital. During the surgery, doctors removed a seven centimeter portion of her brain — basically taking out the bad, non-functioning portion and leaving behind the good, healthy tissue. She has been seizure-free since and has become much more independent.
But Saturday morning on the Miracle League field on Nine Mile Road, Olivia (pictured left) was just a regular kid…playing first base and, with the help of a buddy, getting a strong hit toward center field.
“It means a lot to Olivia to be able to participate in a sport,” mom Amber Bush said as she watched Olivia play. “It means a lot to us as parents to see her play.”
For a photo gallery, click here.
“I still tear up at times,” Miracle League volunteer Packy Mitchell said Saturday morning as he watched the kids of the Miracle League.
It’s a baseball league for disabled and special needs persons of all ages. Some of the players are in wheelchairs and walkers. Some handicaps are mental, some are physical. It’s a place for miracles.
In the end, the first game of the year between the Rockies and the Phillies was tied, just as every game has ended in a tie for the past 11 seasons. The stats for each of the 100 plus players will be the same at the end of the season — perfect.
Players and volunteers come from not just Pensacola, but Mobile, Crestview, Brewton and points in between. Everybody is a volunteer that participates with the Miracle League. The are paid only in smiles.
“On my Saturdays this time of the year, I’m here,” Mitchell said. “It’s the best thing for kids that I’ve every been totally involved in.”
“The smiles on their faces just makes it all worth it,” he added.
Each of the two Pensacola Miracle League fields is made up of 180,000 pounds of recycled tires formed into tiles painted to match a regular field. It provides a softer landing spot for a hard fall, while still providing a good bounce for the hollow core ball that is also designed to lesson injury potential.
The Miracle League needs more volunteers to serve as buddies, work the concession booth, pickup trash and many more tasks around their area of the Nine Mile Road ballpark.
The public is always welcome and encouraged to cheer on the players.
For more information on Miracle League, or to volunteer, visit www.miracleleaguepensacola.org.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Pictured top: A buddy helps a Miracle League of Pensacola player take a swing at the ball Saturday morning. Pictured top inset: Olivia Bush of Cantonment, who is blind, up to bat for the Diamondbacks. Pictured bottom inset: A player for the Cubs scores. Pictured below: A Miracle League player watches the ball while playing catch in the dugout. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Is Freezing Weather Gone? History Says – Maybe Not
March 19, 2012
High’s in the 80’s are becoming the afternoon norm along the Gulf Coast. Spring begins Tuesday. Does that mean that the threat of freezing weather is over? No necessarily, if history is any indicator.
Here’s a look at the average and the record last freeze dates for select weather stations across the area:
Pensacola
- Average: February 22
- Record: 3-27-55
Jay
- Average: March 7
- Record: 4-11-73
Atmore
- Average: March 11
- Record: 4-13-40
Brewton
- Average: March 30
- Record: 4-30-92
Source: National Weather Service
Spring Break Weather: Sunny Start, Rain Later
March 19, 2012
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- This Afternoon: Mostly sunny, with a high near 84. South wind between 10 and 15 mph.
- Tonight: Patchy fog after 1am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 59. South wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Tuesday: Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 83. Breezy, with a southeast wind between 10 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.
- Tuesday Night: Patchy fog after 1am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 59. Southeast wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Wednesday: Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 82. Breezy, with a southeast wind between 10 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.
- Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. Southeast wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 82. Southeast wind between 5 and 15 mph.
- Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 60. South wind around 5 mph.
- Friday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 83. South wind around 5 mph.
- Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59.
- Saturday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 81.
- Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 58.
- Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 80.
Photos: Rodney Atkins, Travis Tritt At Beulahfest
March 19, 2012
Thousands attended the annual Beulahfest over the weekend. Friday night, Travis Tritt headlined the event, with Rodney Atkins the featured entertainment Saturday night.
For a photo gallery from Day 2 with Rodney Atkins, click here.
For a photo gallery from Day 1 with Travis Tritt, click here.
The festival Friday and Saturday featured not only great music, but plenty of fun, rides, and of course those delicious sausages. Beulahfest attracts thousands each year, with proceeds benefiting the Beulah Volunteer Fire Department and other local charities.
Pictured above: Rodney Atkins performs Saturday night. Pictured below: Grammy Award winning country star Travis Tritt performs Friday night at Beulahfest. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Smith/Kennedys Photography, click to enlarge.
Elections Office To Provide Outreach Services In North Escambia
March 19, 2012
Escambia County Supervisor of Elections David Stafford will hold an outreach event to give North Escambia residents a chance to verify and update their voter information, register to vote, pick up a voter guide or become a poll worker.
Staff from the elections office will be in Century on Thursday at two locations:
- 9-11 a.m. — Century Care Center, 6020 Industrial Boulevard, in the Activity Room
- 1-3 p.m. — Century Branch Library, 7991 North Century Boulevard
Florida residents 18 years of age and older can register to vote, change their address, update their signature, change party affiliation and sign up to vote by mail. Individuals 16 or 17 years old can preregister to vote.
The elections staff will also have poll worker applications available. Poll workers are hired and trained to work Election Day at precincts throughout Escambia County. “Standby” workers are also needed in the event that someone is unable to serve at the last minute.
For more information about outreach opportunities or serving as a poll worker, contact the Escambia County Supervisor of Elections office at (850) 595-3900.
Tate Trumpet Player Places Fourth In The Nation
March 19, 2012
A Tate High School senior was named the nation’s fourth best high school trumpet player Sunday afternoon in Washington, D.C.
Chris Snyder took fourth among high school players in National Trumpet Competition.
Each year, candidates from across the nation submit a video audition of themselves performing a difficult classical composition. He was one of 30 high school students selected out of hundreds of applicants who auditioned for the opportunity.
Snyder was able to attend Master Classes led by artists the likes of Doc Severinsen, longtime band leader for the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and various other trumpet professional players from top symphonies across the United States.
Snyder, the son of Mark and Sonya Snyder, is a member of the Celebration Orchestra at Olive Baptist Church. For the past six years, he has studied trumpet privately from Darryl Evans and Tom Savage, both faculty members at Olive’s School of Performing Arts.
Pictured: Chris Snyder practices at the Olive Baptist Church School of the Performing Arts. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Portion Of Jefferson Avenue To Close
March 19, 2012
A portion of Jefferson Avenue is Century is expected to be closed Tuesday and remain closed for 10 days.
Jefferson Avenue will be closed from the Barnwell Lane intersection and east about 200 feet beginning at 7 a.m. Tuesday. The closure is due to the Jefferson Avenue and Pond Street drainage improvement project.
The road is expected to re-open by 5 p.m. on March 30.
Jim Allen 1st Graders Present ‘BUGZ’
March 19, 2012
First grade students at Jim Allen Elementary School recently presented the musical “BUGZ” with plenty of singing and dancing. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Redistricting Begins
March 19, 2012
Sharkey’s restaurant had just gone back to regular hours in the Capitol when lawmakers returned again this week to redraw political boundaries stricken a week earlier by the state’s highest court.
Though likely not to draw the crowds that kept the 10th Floor coffee bar pumping espresso at a Neapolitan clip, the special session on reapportionment did its part to extend the capitol’s busy season, assuring another week of more people in suits than kids in school groups.
The mission? Redraw at least a handful of state Senate districts that the Florida Supreme Court said did not adhere to a constitutional amendment meant to ensure that the most political of processes – the redrawing of political boundaries – was done in a non-political manner.
While the House apparently accomplished the task with Solomon-like effect, the 40-member Senate’s plan was rejected in a 5-2 ruling by the court.
While Republican leaders returned to fight another day, former state Sen. Nancy Argenziano dropped her lance midweek after a circuit judge ruled she cannot run for Congress as a Democrat The quotable former Republican had challenged her exclusion from what is already a crowded field of Democrats hoping to unseat freshman Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland.
Other than that, the capital city was largely quiet following a legislative session that brought a smile to the face of Gov. Rick Scott, whose wish list was largely filled.
REDISTRICTING BEGINS
Following an expected course of action, the Florida Senate began looking Wednesday for ways to respond to the Florida Supreme Court’s decision to throw out the upper chamber’s redistricting maps, opening an extraordinary session to repair the plan.
Unlike the House, which received the high court’s blessing, the Senate plan did not comply with provisions of Amendment 5, which requires lawmakers to draw compact districts that favor no party or candidate.
Senate leaders said the court affirmed the lion’s share of the Senate map by specifically citing just eight districts in its ruling. Changes could be narrowly aimed at fixing those districts – though minor changes in a district’s lines, by necessity, affect neighboring districts.
Still, the Senate said it will try to hone in mostly on the eight problem areas.
“If you know that 32 seats have met the criteria, why upset those 32 if you possibly can (avoid it)?” said Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island.
Critics, however, said that might not prove possible.
“There is no such thing as tweaking the map,” said Florida Democratic Party chairman Rod Smith.
Along with the physical lines, the numbering of the districts is also a disputed factor. All 40 Senate districts are up for re-election this year, meaning that some senators will be elected to two-year terms and some to four-year terms.
Because of that, the districts can be numbered in such a way that most members of the chamber could serve for up to 10 years — longer than the constitutional, eight-year term limit for lawmakers.
The question now is how to allocate the numbers – in other words, how many and which should get an extra two years.
Justices said that was a problem with the plan too.
“Adopting a renumbering system that significantly advantages incumbents by increasing the length of time that they may serve by two years most assuredly favors incumbents,” Justice Barbara Pariente wrote, referring to one of the things the new amendments proscribe, helping out current seatholders. “Further, purposefully manipulating the numbering of the districts in order to allow incumbents to serve in excess of eight years would also appear to frustrate the intent of the voters when the term limits amendment was adopted.”
But in his dissent, Chief Justice Charles Canady said the majority was reaching — noting that the length of the terms doesn’t actually make it easier for any member of the Senate to win re-election.
“The numbering of the Senate districts is totally unrelated to any advantage incumbent senators will obtain vis-a-vis challenger candidates,” Canady wrote.
The session was barely noticeable this week – because lawmakers didn’t really do much. The new version of the Senate maps will be drawn up by staff this weekend, with a discussion of it and vote on it planned for Tuesday in the Senate Reapportionment Committee. With a floor vote in the Senate planned by the end of the week, the House would then be able to follow suit with a pro forma vote on the new plan by the end of the month.
COURT: ARGENZIANO CAN’T RUN AS A DEM.
For at least one candidate, the upcoming decision over whether the state drew Congressional boundaries in a fair way will have little effect because the former Republican found out this week she can’t run in the party with which she now identifies.
Argenziano wanted to join a Democratic primary field that now includes state Rep. Leonard Bembry, former Sen. Al Lawson, attorney Alvin Peters and environmental activist Jay Liles in the bid to unseat Southerland..
Argenziano, a political moderate who has done well with independent voters, had hoped she could do well in a race in which a plurality would be enough to advance into the general election.
She sued over a state elections law overhaul last year that requires candidates who want to run as a member of one party to have not been a member of another party for at least one year before qualifying – about 17 months before an election.
Circuit Court Judge James Shelfer said Argenziano did not prove that she had a “fundamental right” to run as a Democrat — something that would have required the state to prove that the elections law was constitutional. And, she had not proven the law was unconstitutional.
After having some time to think, following the ruling, Argenziano said she would not continue to fight the law.
“The cost to appeal is too much, as well as the time involved,” she wrote on her Facebook page. She’ll likely still run as a member of the Independent Party.
While Argenziano continues to think about a new job, many Floridians have already found one.
Statistics released this week show the state’s unemployment rate in January fell to its lowest level in three years. The 9.6 percent rate was 0.3 percentage points lower than December and a hefty 1.3 points below January 2011.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “Contrary to what Senator (Don) Gaetz suggests, the score is not 32-8. The score is 0-1.” Florida Democratic Chairman Rod Smith talking about the Republican way of looking at its loss in the Supreme Court over the district maps, versus the Democrats’ perspective.
STORY OF THE WEEK: Lawmakers returned for an extraordinary session to redraw state Senate maps after the chamber’s initial attempt got shot down by the Supreme Court.
By The News Service of Florida
Escambia Murder Under Investigation
March 18, 2012
An overnight murder in Escambia County is under investigation.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to a fight at the Oakwood Terrace Apartments off Truman Avenue about 1 a.m Sunday. They did not find anyone hurt at the apartments.
But someone had driven 22-year-old Shernique Kemp to Sacred Heart Hospital where she died from multiple stab wounds. Authorities said she received the injuries in the Oakwood Terrace fight.
Kemp was a resident of Merito Street, several miles from Oakwood Terrace. Deputies are not sure who stabbed her, and their investigation is continuing.