200 Year Old Shipwreck Discovered In Northern Gulf Of Mexico
May 20, 2012
During a recent northern Gulf of Mexico expedition, NOAA, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), and partners discovered an historic wooden-hulled vessel which is believed to have sunk as long as 200 years ago. Scientists on board the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer used underwater robots with lights and high definition cameras to view remnants of the ship laden with anchors, navigational instruments, glass bottles, ceramic plates, cannons, and boxes of muskets.
The NOAA-funded 56-day expedition that ended April 29 was exploring poorly known regions of the Gulf, mapping and imaging unknown or little-known features and habitats, developing and testing a method to measure the rate that gas rises from naturally-occurring seeps on the seafloor, and investigating potential shipwreck sites.
The shipwreck site was originally identified as an unknown sonar contact during a 2011 oil and gas survey for Shell Oil Company. The Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) requested this and other potential shipwreck sites be investigated during NOAA’s Gulf of Mexico expedition. Surveys and archaeological assessments are required by BOEM to aid in its decision-making prior to issuing permits for bottom-disturbing activities related to oil and gas exploration and development.
“Artifacts in and around the wreck and the hull’s copper sheathing may date the vessel to the early to mid-19th century,” said Jack Irion, Ph.D., a maritime archaeologist with BOEM. “Some of the more datable objects include what appears to be a type of ceramic plate that was popular between 1800 and 1830, and a wide variety of glass bottles. A rare ship’s stove on the site is one of only a handful of surviving examples in the world and the second one found on a shipwreck in the Gulf of Mexico.”
Significant historical events occurring in the regions around the Gulf of Mexico during this time include the War of 1812, events leading to the Texas Revolution, and the Mexican-American War, he said.
“Shipwrecks help to fill in some of the unwritten pages of history,” said Frank Cantelas, a maritime archaeologist with NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. “We explored four shipwrecks during this expedition and I believe this wreck was by far the most interesting and historic. The site is nearly 200 miles off the Gulf coast in over 4,000 feet of water in a relatively unexplored area.”
The expedition also discovered areas exhibiting rich biodiversity. At the base of the West Florida Escarpment, a steep undersea cliff, explorers found a “forest” of deep corals, several of which were new to scientists on the ship and ashore. For several days the expedition team also imaged deep-coral communities in the vicinity of the Macondo oil spill site. On another part of the expedition, team members designed and installed a device on the ship’s undersea robot system, or ROV (remotely-operated vehicle), to measure the rate that gas rises in the water column.
Pictured top: While most of the ship’s wood has long since disintegrated, copper that sheathed the hull beneath the waterline as a protection against marine-boring organisms remains, leaving a copper shell retaining the form of the ship. The copper has turned green. Pictured inset: An anemone lives on top of a musket that lies across a whole group of muskets at the site of the shipwreck. A variety of artifacts inside the ship’s hull relates either to daily life on board or to the ship’s cargo. Artifacts include ceramic plates, platters, and bowls; and glass liquor, wine, medicine, and food storage bottles of many shapes and colors (some with the contents still sealed inside). Photos courtesy NOAA/Okeanos Explorer program for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
2011 Northview Grad McCall Graduates From Basic Training
May 20, 2012
Air Force Airman Jessie D. McCall graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas.
The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills.
Airmen who complete basic training earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force.
McCall is the daughter of Steven McCall of Thomas McCall Lane, McDavid.
The airman is a 2011 graduate of Northview High School, Bratt.
Birth – Russell John LeMesurier
May 20, 2012
Desmond and Sarah LeMesurier of Byrneville are blessed to announce the birth of their son Russell John LeMesurier.
He was born March 22, 2012, at 2:12 p.m. at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola. He weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces and measured 18 and three-quarters inches long. His proud grandparents are J.B. and Trudie Johnson of Byrneville and Desmond and Violet LeMesurier of Woodsboro, Texas.
“Russ” has one great grandmother, Laura Johnson of Century, and an uncle, Jeff Johnson of Flomaton, and one great uncle, Bill and Aunt Angie Weaver of Byrneville.
Half Of Escambia 9th, 10th Graders Fail Reading FCAT
May 19, 2012
About half of Escambia County ninth and tenth graders failed the reading portion of the new, tougher FCAT 2.0 reading test. In Santa Rosa County, about one-third of ninth and tenth graders failed.
Students must pass the 10th grade reading test to graduate.
In Escambia County, 50 percent of ninth grade students and 49 percent of tenth grade students scored a passing 3.0 or above. In Santa Rosa County, 68 percent of ninth graders passed, while 64 percent of tenth graders had passing 3.0 or greater.
Scores for North Escambia area schools appear in the table below.
Cantonment Man Charged With Robbery Outside Pensacola Bar
May 19, 2012
A Cantonment man has been charged with robbing another man outside a Pensacola bar.
Deangelo Kirkland, age 22 of Lincoln Street, was charged with robbery without a weapon and petit theft. Kirkland was later released from the Escambia County Jail on a $27,000 bond.
The victim said he was outside The Game Plan on Fairfield Drive about 2:20 a.m. on March 31 when he was approached by two black males. One of the suspects, later identified as Kirkland, told the victim that he owned him money. Kirkland then, according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, grabbed the victim from behind and choked him until he lost consciousness.
When the victim awoke, he discovered his iPhone 4S and car keys were missing.
Jobless Rate Falls In Area
May 19, 2012
The latest job numbers released Friday showed a drop in unemployment in the three-county North Escambia area — as Florida’s employment rebound continued.
Escambia County’s unemployment dropped from 8.8 percent in March to 8.0 percent in April. There were 414 fewer reported unemployed during the period, for a total Escambia County unemployment of 10,904 people. One year ago, unemployment in Escambia County was 9.6 percent.
Santa Rosa County unemployment slipped from 8.5 percent in March to 7.5 percent in April. Santa Rosa County had a total of 5,335 persons still unemployed. The year-ago unemployment rate in Santa Rosa County was 8.2 percent.
In Escambia County, Alabama, unemployment dropped from 8.5 percent in March to 7.5 percent in April. That represented 1,138 people unemployed in the county during the month.
The jobless numbers released by Florida and Alabama do not include persons that have given up on finding a job and are no longer reported as unemployed.
Florida’s jobless rate in April fell to 8.7 percent as the state continued an employment rebound that began 11 months ago, the Department of Economic Opportunity reported Friday. But April’s drop was also affected by the fact that nearly 28,000 job seekers dropped out of the hunt. The number of jobless in April was 0.3 percentage points lower than March and 1.9 points below April 2011. The national unemployment rate for April was 8.1 percent.
Alabama’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, at 7.2 percent in April, was down from March’s rate of 7.4 percent and was below the year-ago rate of 9.2 percent.
Three Charged In Santa Rosa Meth Lab Bust
May 19, 2012
Three people were arrested after a deputy used his nose to discover a meth lab in Santa Rosa County.
A Sheriff’s deputy was on patrol when he noticed a strong odor of smoke and a strong chemical smell coming from a home on Stanley Circle. Inside the home deputies say they found a “shake and bake” meth lab operated by Shawn Fagen and Sarah Rose.
Fagen and Rose were arrested on several drug charges.
Another man, Daniel Perkins, was also arrested at the home and charged with possession of a controlled substance.
Weekend Gardening: Hit A Home Run With Knock Out Roses
May 19, 2012
I love roses, I always have. After many years of growing roses, I found myself becoming, dare I say it, a bit of a rose snob. If it wasn’t a hybrid tea, I didn’t want anything to do with it. But as many Southerners know, the hybrid teas do have to be pampered and constantly monitored and treated for fungal diseases.
A couple of years ago, I decided to add some Knock Out roses to my landscape. I was taking a hesitant turn away from the long stems of the hybrid teas to a common shrub rose. I am very glad that I did. This year, the shrub roses are covered with dozens of beautiful blooms. Massed together, they are breathtaking and grab the attention of neighbors.
Landscape shrub roses will not make you great cut flowers, but they will give your landscape an abundance of rose flowers for the majority of the year. They practically bloom non-stop during the growing season, from March to November in Northwest Florida. Also, they are much less prone to blackspot disease than the traditional hybrid tea, floribunda and grandiflora roses.
The Knock Out family of roses was started by rose breeder Bill Radler when he crossed seedlings of ‘Carefree Beauty’ with ‘Razzle Dazzle’ to create the original Knock Out rose. The family now includes varieties that range from blush to vibrant red and even yellow.
In general, Knock Out roses are drought tolerant, self cleaning, and resistant to black spot and powdery mildew. Since they require little maintenance, they are ideal for gardeners who enjoy roses but who aren’t interested in the upkeep required to grow hybrid tea roses. The only drawback of Knock Out roses is that they don’t have a strong fragrance. According to the Conrad Pyle website, the only true fragrant Knock Out is the yellow ‘Sunny’ cultivar.
Like all roses, Knock Out roses need to be planted where they will receive at least six to eight hours of sun each day. It also helps to have a site with good air movement and well-drained soil that falls between pH 6.0 and pH 6.5.
Knock Out roses generally grow three to five feet tall and equally as wide, but some sources say they can reach eight feet tall if not pruned, so be sure to space them appropriately.
After planting, water them regularly until they get established. Apply a three-inch layer of mulch to help retain moisture in the soil, pulling the mulch back from the stem of the plants. Be sure to avoid overhead watering which can increase the chance of fungal leaf spots. They prefer a deep watering every once in a while rather than frequent light waterings.
Knock Out roses are referred to as self-cleaning meaning that the spent blooms will fall off on their own. They will re-bloom every five to six weeks regardless of your deadheading practices. Deadheading is the removal of faded blooms. Most gardeners have found, however, that occasionally deadheading will create and maintain a tidier, more attractive plant.
For more information on rose pests and diseases, refer to the University of Florida/IFAS online publication at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep371 or contact your local Extension Office.
Theresa Friday is the Residential Horticulture Extension Agent for Santa Rosa County.
Escambia Man Gets 15 Years For Subway Robbery
May 19, 2012
State Attorney Bill Eddins announced Friday that John Bruce, Jr. was found guilty of robbery by an Escambia County jury. Following the verdict, Judge Scott Duncan sentenced Bruce as a prison releasee reoffender to 15 years state prison as a mandatory minimum.
On December 16, 2011, John Bruce entered an Escambia County Subway restaurant and demanded money from the cashier. As he was making the demands, he had his hand wrapped in a shirt and motioned as if he had a weapon. The defendant was able to take over $200 in cash. The victim identified Bruce through a photo lineup.
Blue Wahoos Take Jacksonville
May 19, 2012
After waiting out another rain delay, this one only 25 minutes, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos came away with a 2-1 win over the Jacksonville Suns at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville on Friday night.
The Wahoos plated their first run in the top of the second when Yordanys Perez singled home Mark Fleury from second for the game’s first run. The Suns responded immediately when Thursday night’s hero, Shawn Bowman, blasted his fifth homer of the season, a solo shot, to tie the game.
Pensacola scratched across the winning run in the fourth. Joel Guzman opened the inning with a single. He stole second before scoring on another RBI single by Perez, his second of the game. That was all the Blue Wahoos needed behind a solid pitching effort by Tim Gustafson. The Pensacola starter lasted 5.2 innings and allowed just one run on only two hits while striking out five. He walked three straight in the bottom of the second before bouncing back to retire the next 10 batters. Gustafson got credit for the win, his first as a starter this season.
His opposition, Bryan Evans, was equally impressive. He gave up just two runs over seven innings in the losing effort. Donnie Joseph (8) recorded the final four outs for the Blue Wahoos to earn the save.
The two teams continue the series on Saturday from the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. The Blue Wahoos will send right-hander Kyle Lotzkar (1-1, 1.46) to the mound against Suns righty Zach Neal (2-5, 4.29). First pitch is slated for 5:05 central time.
By Tommy Thrall
Pictured above: Tim Gustafson allowed just one run over 5.2 innings Friday night against Jacksonville. Photo by Chris Nelson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.