Northview Lady Chiefs Shut Out J.U. Blacksher
April 23, 2024
The Northview Lady Chiefs shut out J.U. Blacksher 11-0 Monday in Uriah, Alabama.
Jamison Gilman earned the win in the circle for the Chiefs, and was a force at the plate, going 3-4 at bat. She gave up no hits and no runs in a complete game five innings, striking out four and walking none.
Gilman, Mary Clayton Dawson, and Riley Brooks drove in two runs each.
Northview will be at Washington on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
U.S. Marshals Track Down Wanted Atmore Fugitive
April 23, 2024
A fugitive from Atmore has been tracked down by the U.S. Marshals Service.
Marshals located and arrested 22-year-old Isaiah Finney on several active felony warrants stemming from incidents in Atmore during September and November of 2023.
The Atmore Police Department develop Finney as their suspect for shooting at an occupied vehicle before fleeing. APD said they recovered firearms from his vehicle along with other evidence.
“Finney is also a suspect in other recent shootings that are current investigations and are awaiting the results of ballistic testing to determine if any charges are forthcoming,” Sgt. Darrell McMann said.
He was booked into the Escambia County (AL) Detention Center on outstanding warrants for discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle, certain persons forbidden to possess firearms, attempting to elude a police officer, and possession of marijuana second degree. An additional new charge of possession of a firearm by a violent felon was added at the time of his arrest.
Finney was held without bond.
Locals Make New $22.5 Million Offer For OLF-8 Property
April 22, 2024
Escambia County has received a new offer for a portion of the OLF-8 property on Nine Mile Road.
The Letter of Intent (LOI) was received from a law firm on behalf of local potential buyers Cliff Mowe, land developer and Ryan Chavers, owner of a construction company.
They are offering $22.5 million for 290 acres with cash due at closing following an initial deposit of $250,000.
The offer include a six month inspection period with closing to following in two months.
Mowe and Chavers’s offer states they will work with the county to develop a modified version of the current master plan. The modified master plan will include a main boulevard, , green space, retail, office, recreation areas and a mix of multi-family residential. Detached single-family homes will not be a part of the Modified Master Plan.
“Buyers and Seller agree to cooperate with one another on developing and obtaining approval for the Modified Master Plan, creating a project the Beulah community can be proud of, with the goal of accomplishing approval during the Inspection Period,” the offer states.”
The buyser are also promising to try to involve local firms in all development aspects of the property.
Escambia County was recently in exclusive negations with Beulah Town Center, LLC on acreage but did not come to terms and proceeds.
The Escambia County Commission will discuss the new offer on Monday.
Pictured: A portion of the original DPZ Master Plan that was approved in July 2021. NorthEscambia.com graphic.
Century Mayor Reports Entire Playground Stolen; ECSO Says It Was Scrapped For $196
April 22, 2024
Century Mayor Luis Gomez, Jr. reported an entire park playground had been stolen, but the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office determined that no crime was committed.
Gomez told the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office that he went to the Carver Community Center on Jefferson Avenue on April 8 and noticed that the playground equipment, basketball goals and poles, and the handrails from the building were gone. He said the playground was there the prior day because he saw children playing and be believed it was stolen between 10 a.m. and 3:45 p.m. Gomez said the metal was removed using a torch, according to an incident report.
The town has approved a design for a new $3.255 million community center on the property, and the current building will be demolished first due to advance termite damage and deterioration. The town council recently voted to allow local resident Marilyn Robinson, a former caretaker of sorts of the community center, to remove property she claimed belongs to her from the building prior to demolition.
Robinson was at the community center when an ECSO investigator arrived. She told the investigator that she had given Melvin Manuel permission to take an outside air conditioner unit and a portion of chain link fence, but that she did not give permission to take anything else.
Another person at the community center told the deputy that she saw a white truck across the street near the back of the building about 11:30 a.m. and a white female with blond hair leaving the community center on a bicycle.
While enroute to Manuels home, the investigator said a white female with a blond hair and a male with a hat and red shirt on bicycles near North Century Boulevard and Highway 4. He stopped them and determined that they had been involved in taking metal from the community center, the report states. John Hunter, who has experience as a welder, said he was paid a total of $75 by Manuel to help take the metal. Hunter stated that he believed Manuel had permission since the community center was slated for demolition, the report says.
The deputy contacted Manuel at his home, and he stated that he had taken the basketball goals and poles, handrails, and playground equipment, according to the Sheriff’s Office. He provided a receipt where the metal was sold as scrap to Atmore Recycling for $196.
Robinson met with the investigator and was asked if there was any chance that Melvin misinterpreted her statements.
“Robinson stated that while she did not believe she was unclear, there was a chance that Manuel misinterpreted her statements about the building due to her being in an emotional state over the circumstances that had led to the programs at the building being shut down,” the ECSO incident report states.
The investigator determined that no crime was committed.
“I do not find probable cause for an arrest. As such, no further law enforcement action is being taken by this deputy at this time,” he wrote.
Vehicle Rolls On Kingsfield Road After Hitting Bridge
April 22, 2024
A vehicle rolled over Sunday morning at a Cantonment bridge.
The driver collided with the guardrail on the bridge over Eleven Mile Creek on Kingsfield Road about 10:30 a.m.
No serious injuries were reported.
The Florida Highway Patrol investigated and has not released details.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Beulah Middle FFA Teams Places 7th In Florida In Meat Identification
April 22, 2024
The Beulah Middle School FFA team placed as the seventh best team in the state for meat identification. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia Woman, 20, Gets 15 Years In Prison for 2022 Double Fatal Crash
April 22, 2024
An Escambia County woman has been sentenced to prison in connection with a double fatal crash that occurred in January 2022.
Sara Nicole Huson was sentenced was sentenced to 15 years in state prison, 15 years of probation following her release, and a 20-year driver’s license revocation. for two counts of vehicular homicide, two counts of driving with a suspended license and one count of drug possession.
The crash on Sorrento Road involved a sedan driving by Hudson which collided with pickup driven by a female from Brierfield, Alabama.
Hudson’s sedan crossed the centerline at a high rate of speed, entering the lane with the pickup truck. The driver attempted unsuccessfully to swerve to the right to avoid the collision. The front of the sedan collided with the front of the pickup truck. Hudon’s passenger, her boyfriend, was pronounced deceased on scene.
The female driver was transported to Baptist Hospital, where she was later pronounced deceased. During the investigation, the sedan driven by Hudson was calculated to have been traveling at a speed of near 85 miles per hour in a 55 mile per hour zone.
Florida Gas Prices Rise 13 Cents; Set New 2024 High
April 22, 2024
Florida gas prices rose 13 cents early last week. From there, the state average declined 6 cents through the weekend. Sunday’s state average was $3.58 per gallon.
On Wednesday, the state average reached a new 2024 high of $3.64 per gallon. Last year’s high was $3.85 per gallon.
The Pensacola metro had the lowest average in the state at $3.32 per gallong. A low of $3.16 could be found Sunday night in North Escambia at two stations on Highway 29 in Cantonment. In Pensacola. the low price awas $3.07 at a station on west Nine Mile Road.
“Volatility in the oil market has greatly contributed to rising prices at the pump in recent weeks,” said Mark Jenkins, spokesman, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “Oil prices have been reacting to rising geopolitical tensions between Israel and Iran, and OPEC’s decision to extend production cuts, in effort to crimp global fuel supplies.”
About half the price of gasoline is influenced by the price of oil. Higher oil prices contribute to higher gasoline production costs. Through the first quarter of the year, the price of oil averaged around $75 per barrel. Since mid-March, the price of oil has averaged nearly $84 per barrel. During that same time, the state average has mostly remained above $3.50 per gallon.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Blue Angels Thrill, Rocket City Blasts Past Wahoos In Series Finale
April 22, 2024
by Bill Vilona
The Blue Wahoos will have Monday to rest and reset following their first home series loss against the Rocket City Trash Pandas in the matchup’s four-season history.
They seek a change in batting fortune.
A pair of Trash Pandas pitchers, led by top pitching prospect Caden Dana, checked the Blue Wahoos on just three hits in a 3-0 loss Sunday at Blue Wahoos Stadium to close out the first half of an extended homestand. The win enabled Rocket City (9-6) to win the series 4-2, after entering the week with a 2-16 record in Pensacola.
A crowd of 3,851 had its biggest excitement when the famed Blue Angels buzzed over the stadium under a clear-blue sky during the seventh inning while returning from a weekend air show. That was the loudest roar of the day.
In the ninth inning, however, there was some suspense on the field.
The first two Blue Wahoos batters, newcomer Joe Mack and catcher Paul McIntosh, drew walks to put multiple runners on base for the only time in the game.
Jacob Berry then missed on a game-tying home run when lining a shot foul down the right field line. He then fouled off a couple pitches before reliever Hayden Seig struck him out with a changeup. Shane Sasaki then hit a slow grounder that became a force out. Cody Morissette, who had laced two hard lineouts earlier in the game, grounded out to end the game.
After Javier Sanoja led off the Blue Wahoos first inning with a single, Rocket City’s Dana retired the next 15 batters in order. Dana, a 20-year-old righthander from Warwick, New York, entered this season ranked No. 2 overall among the Los Angeles Angels top 30 prospects.
The Trash Pandas team has all four of the Angels’ top quartet of prospects on the team to start the season.
Rocket City got two first inning runs off Blue Wahoos starter Paul Campbell, but then Campbell settled into a groove, retiring 12 of the next 16 batters he faced in a what became a rapidly played game that was complete in two hours, 22 minutes.
Campbell was solid again in his second start this week, working into the seventh with just three hits allowed and seven strikeouts and just one walk. It continued his comeback attempt after making his MLB debut with the Miami Marlins in 2021.
The Blue Wahoos (6-9) will now turn attention to the series against the Shuckers (10-4), who entered Sunday’s game with eight consecutive wins and the best start in the Southern League.
Lefthander Jonathan Bermúdez (1-1, 1.64 ERA) will start for the Blue Wahoos. He held Rocket City hitless into the sixth inning of the series-opening 1-0 win Tuesday.
GAME NOTABLES
—- Joe Mack walked into the Blue Wahoos front office at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, after flying into Pensacola from Beloit, Wisconsin, where he was the top hitter (.343, 12 RBI) and biggest force behind the Beloit Sky Carp’s fast start in the Midwest League as the Marlins High-affiliate. He’s the Marlins’ top catcher prospect and will likely see plenty of opportunity in that role in Pensacola.
The Blue Anchor Belles, a trio of military wives, whose husbands are stationed at NAS-Pensacola, performed the National Anthem.
—- It was West Florida High’s baseball team group outing Sunday. The 6-year-old son of Jaguars’ coach Joe Rieland threw out ta ceremonial first pitch and got a roar when he threw a pitch from the mound to home plate.
—- There were two outs in the top of the seventh at 5:43 p.m. when the unmistakable roar of the Blue Angels jets were heard a split- before the jets buzzed over the stadium.
WHAT’S NEXT?
WHO: Biloxi Shuckers vs. Blue Wahoos
WHEN: Tuesday through Sunday (April 23-28). Gametimes are 6:05 p.m. for all games except Wednesday at 11:05 and Sunday at 4:05.
WHERE: Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Escambia Considers Widening 2.16 Miles Of Dangerously Narrow Highway 164; Barry Promises More
April 21, 2024
Escambia County is set to consider a $1.25 million project to widen about 2.16 total miles of dangerously narrow Highway 164 in two locations in what one county commissioner promises is part of the first phase of work.
Highway 164 has been the scene of several near head-on crashes and sideswipes attributed to the narrow roadway. Some of the roadway has approximately 8-foot travel lanes — not wide enough for large vehicles like a fire engine from the nearby McDavid Fire Station (pictured below).
The project would widen Highway 164 to 11-foot wide travel lanes two-thirds of a mile east from Highway 97 and a 1.5 mile stretch that is three-quarters of a mile either side of the Pine Barren Road intersection. (See maps below.) Highway 164 is about 11.5 miles long from Highway 97 to Highway 29.
“I’m excited about the first phase of widening improvements for the most narrow part of Hwy 164,” Barry said. “I promise it’s not the completion of the project, only the first phase including the worst area, and I will keep working diligently to secure the funds needed for additional widening of Highway 164 and for other roads which need these type improvements as well.
On Monday, the Escambia County Commission will vote on awarding a $1,254,955.88 bid to Panhandle Grading and Paving, the lowest lowest, most responsive, and responsible bidder for this project.
According to Escambia County Engineering, the two areas had seven sideswipes and other accidents between May 2018 and May 2023– the highest concentration areas on Highway 164. NorthEscambia.com has covered several other crashes on Highway 164 outside the proposed widening zone — including a fiery two pickup crash last April, and a pickup truck and school bus last year (detailed in photo descriptions below).
If approved, the project will be funded by Local Option Sales Tax funs and is expected to be complete in 150 days.
Pictured above and first below: A near head-on crash in April 2023 on Highway 164 about a mile west of Pine Barren Road — outside the area currently proposed for widening. Pictured second and third photos below: A pickup truck overturned in February 2022 after sideswiping a school bus on Highway 164 1.3 miles east of Pine Barren Road — outside the area currently proposed for widening. Pictured bottom two photos: A school bus and ECUA sanitation truck sideswiped in June 2022 just east of Pine Barren Road — our records do not indicate the exact distance from Pine Barren Road, but it was very near the three-quarter mile mark. NorthEscambia.com photos and graphics, click to enlarge.
