Explosions, Fire Destroy Shed Near Bratt Park
April 28, 2024
A fire and explosions destroyed a storage shed near a Bratt park Saturday afternoon.
The fire happened just after 5 p.m. in the 4500 block of West Highway 4, adjacent to the Travis M. Nelson Park.
The fire in the small shed was reportedly sparked by an accidental yard fire that spread. At least two propane tanks exploded, rattling the park and neighborhood.
A 30 pound propane tank explosion (pictured above and below) sent shrapnel flying some 150 feet or more, according to reports.
There were no injuries reported.
The fire mostly burned itself out following the explosions was partially knocked down by individuals.
The Walnut Hill, McDavid and Century stations of Escambia County Fire Rescue and the Atmore Fire Department were dispatched to the blaze.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
EREC Holds 85th Annual Meeting (With Photo Gallery)
April 28, 2024
Escambia River Electric Cooperative members held their 85th annual meeting Saturday at Ernest Ward Middle School in Walnut Hill.
Dozens of door prizes were awarded, most of them electric, and one lucky member won the grand prize of a $500 credit on their electric bill.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Members met in a business session after voting on board members. Ernie Hester and James Earl Hall were reelected to the board of trustees for Escambia County. For Santa Rosa County, Philip Marshall was elected to the board for the first time. A total of 758 votes were cast in person and absentee.
Northview High School senior Maggie Rose Godwin and Central School senior Anna Marie Hernandez were recognized as winners of the annual Herman D. Johnson Scholarships, providing each of them with $1,000 per year for four years of college.
Lelia Mason from Northview High School and Tucker Nowling from Jay High School were recognized as recipients of the first-ever EREC Trade/Vocational Scholarship for $1,000 each per year. Nowling plants to become an electrical lineman after trade school.
EREC was formed in 1939 with 88 members in their first month. The cooperative now serves about 12,770 members in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties with 1,800 miles of energized line and has 1,600 water meters in Escambia County.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Barrineau Park Historical Society Awards Scholarships
April 28, 2024
The Barrineau Park Historical Society presented their annual academic scholarships Saturday afternoon at the Barrineau Park Community Center.
The recipients were:
- Lillian Hatch. The West Florida High School senior was awarded a $1,000 scholarship. She plans on attending Florida State University and major in nursing.
- Isabella Young. She is a senior at West Florida High and received at $1,000 scholarship. She plan to attend the University of South Florida- Tampa and will continue to study theater and the arts.
- Berklee Hall, a Northview High School senior, received a $500 Lynda Minchew Scholarship. She plants to attend Coastal Alabama Community College to pursue a nursing career.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Jay Graduate Bledsoe Makes History As Candidate For National FFA Officer
April 28, 2024
A Jay High school graduate is making history as the first-ever Santa Rosa County candidate for a national FFA office.
Makenleigh Bledsoe, a 2023 JHS graduate and 2023-2024 Florida FFA state vice president, was selected recently to represent Florida as a 2024 national FFA candidate.
Each year, the National FFA Organization selects six student members to represent the organization as a national FFA officer.
The primary responsibility of a national officer is to serve the organization in local, state, national, and international activities in a way that will inform, motivate, and inspire FFA members, advisors, state staff, teachers, and others to achieve the mission, strategies and core goals of the organization.
National officers dedicate one year of service to the organization. The time is spent representing student membership during meetings with the National FFA Board of Directors, facilitating workshops that bring leadership and knowledge to FFA members, delivering motivational speeches, and serving as advocates for FFA.
National FFA officers will be selected by a nominating committee at the National FFA Convention & Expo this October in Indianapolis.
Blue Wahoos End 4-Game Streak
April 28, 2024
written by Bill Vilona
The Blue Wahoos were unable Saturday to extend their week-long winning streak.
But the game wasn’t lacking for notable moments.
An overflow crowd, which packed the party decks and went rows deep on the concourse, saw the Biloxi Shuckers rally from a three-run deficit in the middle innings to produce a 4-3 victory at Blue Wahoos Stadium, ending Pensacola’s four-game win streak that was the longest of the early season.
Aside from that aspect, however, the crowd of 5,038 watched a 3-year-old boy who overcame a heart defect throw a ceremonial first pitch and an 8-year-old girl who survived a life-saving procedure take a “Home Run for Life” trip around bases.
It was that kind of special night, even without the desired scoreboard result.
The Blue Wahoos took an early lead in the game when loading the bases on consecutive singles by Zach Zubia and Sean Roby, plus a Cody Morissette fielder’s choice play with an error on a force out attempt.
Bennett Hostetler hit into a double play that scored Zubia, then a strikeout ended the inning.
In the third inning, Zubia hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to score Shane Sasaki, who led off with a single. Roby flew out to end that inning, and both of these early opportunities for big innings proved pivotal later in the game.
Morissette made it 3-1 in the fourth inning when he lined a home run inside the foul pole down the right line – a feat more pronounced with the wind blowing in from the bay at a brisk pace.
The Shuckers tied the game with a two-out rally in the sixth inning. They produced three consecutive doubles, the first two off Blue Wahoos starter M.D. Johnson, who otherwise had a solid night. He had two walks, three strikeouts and pitched out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the first inning with two big breaking pitches.
Reliever Jeff Lindgren relieved Johnson and yielded a two-strike double to Andy Yerzy that tied the game.
Back-to-back doubles in the ninth from Darrien Miller and Mike Boeve gave the Shuckers their first lead of the night. The Shuckers bullpen recorded four hitless innings from three relievers to seal the game. The Blue Wahoos’ Paul McIntosh went 2-for-4 as the team’s only multiple-hit batter Saturday on a night where Pensacola was held to six hits.
The teams will conclude this six-game homestand on Sunday with pregame activities and ceremonial first pitches starting at 3:45 and the actual game first pitch set for 4:05.
GAME NOTABLES
— Zara Spencer leaped onto home plate, excited for her “Home Run For Life” moment that thrilled the crowd. What seemed an earache worsened into an emergency room visit to the Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Sacred Heart. Physicians discovered she had a mastoiditis infection and an abscess on the brain. Zara was immediately rushed into surgery.
Nine days later, she was released and the life-saving procedure returned her life to normal. With family watching, the bubbly 9-year-old raced around the bases Saturday night in a heartwarming moment.
— On a busy Saturday with pregame activities, there were seven ceremonial first pitches, including a 3-year-old boy, Henderson Woods, who was born with a congenital heart defect. But he is now a normal toddler and had the crowd reacting his first pitch.
— Rachel Balkovec, the Miami Marlins new director of player development, addressed season-ticket holders in the first base lounge reserved for those with season tickets. She also took several questions from the audience. Balkovec, 36, an Omaha, Nebraska native, became in 2022 the first female manager of an affiliated MLB team when she managed the Tampa Tarpons, the New York Yankees Low-A affiliate in the Florida State League.
WANT TO GO?
WHO: Biloxi Shuckers vs. Blue Wahoos
WHEN: Sunday, 4:05 p.m.
WHERE: Blue Wahoos Stadium
WaWa Holds GroundBreaking First Escambia Store; Other Locations Announced
April 27, 2024
A groundbreaking ceremony was held Friday to mark the start of construction on Escambia County’s first Wawa store convenience retail stores.
The store will be located at Ransley Station at Pine Forest Road and Sharon Lane, just north of I-10, and is expected to be open by the end of 2024.
Wawa hosted dozens of VIP customers, as well as local officials and partners, who participated in the groundbreaking and received an update on Wawa’s growth plans for Escambia County, which included announcing the next site to go under construction later this year at the intersection of West Nine Mile Road and Beulah Road will be open in 2025. Two additional sites are set to begin construction later this year and open in 2025 at: North Davis Highway and Johnson Avenue, and Highway 98 and Blue Angel Parkway.
Wawa also invited guests to enjoy samples of freshly brewed coffee and other handcrafted beverages.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to break ground on our first store and celebrate with our newest soon-to-be neighbors!” said Joe Collins, director of Store Operations for Wawa.” We are thrilled to be kicking off our expansion into Pensacola and can’t wait to open our doors.”
At the groundbreaking, Wawa presented a $2,500 grant to Feeding the Gulf Coast to support local programs in Escambia County to fight hunger and food insecurity.
Wawa stores are currently located in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida and Washington, D.C. with nearly 1,000 locations to date.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia County EMS Offers $5,000 Signing Bonus
April 27, 2024
Escambia County EMS is offering a $5,000 sign-on bonus for new full-time paramedics, with a goal of attracting qualified individuals with a passion for public safety to join the EMS team.
Several full-time paramedic positions are currently open, offering numerous benefits including competitive wages, shift differentials, deferred compensation, state retirement, and more, the county announced Friday.
The $5,000 sign-on bonus is available for newly hired full-time paramedics, to be paid out over 3 years in accordance with the terms of their contract. A contract is required in order to receive the bonus, which will be paid in three installments.
“We are excited to offer this bonus to recruit high-quality individuals to increase our staffing levels, which will help ensure we are continuing to provide the highest level of service to Escambia County residents,” EMS Chief David Torsell said. “Recruitment and retention are challenges faced by EMS agencies throughout the nation, with many looking at innovative ways to enhance recruitment. Our hope is that this bonus, combined with our competitive pay and benefits, will encourage qualified applicants to seek a rewarding career in public service with the Escambia County EMS team.”
Minimum qualifications for Escambia County paramedics include, but are not limited to:
- High school diploma or the successful completion of the GED test
- Completion of emergency medical coursework at the paramedic level, or a combination of education and experience equivalent to these requirements
- Licenses and certifications including: Valid Florida Paramedic Certification, AHA CPR Certification, AHA ACLS Certification, valid driver’s license from state of residence.
Qualified applicants are encouraged to apply at MyEscambia.com/careers, or click the direct link here.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Fourth Candidate Prefiles For Escambia Commission District 5
April 27, 2024
A new candidate has prefiled to seek the Escambia County Commission District 5 seat in the 2024 election.
Rafael I. Lopez pre-filed with no party affiliation (NPA).
Incumbent Steven Barry, James Hilburn and John Taylor, Jr, have also prefiled for the position.
Two Injured In Crash Into Escambia Deputy Vehicle
April 27, 2024
A vehicle driven by a 60-year-old Escambia County man collided with a deputy’s cruiser, sending him and his passenger to the hospital.
The Florida Highway Patrol said the man failed to yield to oncoming traffic as he turned from northbound Highway 29 to West Hope Drive. He collided with a southbound marked Escambia County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicle.
The 60-year-old man was critically injured; his 59-year-old passenger suffered serious injuries. The 36-year-old man deputy was not injured.
FHP is continuing their investigation.
Friends Big Spring Book Sale Saturday And Sunday At The Downtown Library
April 27, 2024
The Friends of the West Florida Spring Book Sale is going on through Sunday.
It’s time to stock up on books, DVDs, audiobooks, and CDs. The books are sorted by genre to make it easier to find your favorite novels, children’s books, books about gardening and decorating, biographies, and so many more.
Saturday is half-off day from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Sunday is the big $7 bag sale — all of the books you can stuff into a provided bag for $7.
Admission is free both days at the downtown library, 239 North Spring Street. Debit and credit cards are accepted.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
