One Injured In Highway 97 Davisville Crash
April 7, 2024
One person was injured when a Kia crashed in a culvert on Highway 97 in Davisville Saturday morning.
The crash happened south of the Piggly Wiggly and the Florida/Alabama state line at Atmore. The driver was transported to an area hospital by Escambia County EMS. Their injuries were not considered to be life-threatening.
Escambia County Fire Rescue, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Highway Patrol also responded.
FHP is continuing their investigation into the cause of the crash.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Funeral Held For Escambia Deputy Sheriff 1st Class Albert George Kalber
April 7, 2024
Funeral services were held Saturday at Pensacola Beach for Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Sheriff 1st Class Albert George Kalber.
Kalber passed away peacefully on March 24, surrounded by family and friends, after a long battle with an illness.
He served the citizens of Escambia County since 2013, becoming the school resource officer at Tate High School in 2018.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview FFA Horse Judging Team Places Third In State
April 7, 2024
The Northview High School FFA Horse Evaluation Team placed third overall in the state Saturday at the Florida FFA State Horse Evaluation Finals in Gainesville.
Kailey Hawkins also placed third individually. Team members are Hawkins, Jordan Ford, Kyrie King, and Jack Boutwell.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Here’s How Escambia Public Schools Will Handle The Eclipse On Monday
April 7, 2024
About 80% of the sun will be eclipsed Monday in Escambia County, and Escambia County Public Schools has announced how they will handle the event.
All outdoor activities not approved by school principals will be suspended during the time, and school personnel will review proper safety protocols with students during the eclipse. Approved activities will vary by school and teacher and can include viewing the eclipse through approved eyewear and/or viewing the eclipse indirectly using pinhole projection. Teachers have received training on these topics.
Blue Wahoos Get Wild Walkoff To Delight Sellout Crowd With Second Win
April 7, 2024
by Bill Violan, Pensacola Blue Wahoos
Two games into the season, the Blue Wahoos already have a walkoff win.
On a Fireworks Saturday, no less, complete with a bizarre finish.
Pinch-runner Dalvy Rosario, who joined the team earlier in the day, scored on a wild pitch, after advancing on a wild pitch to give the Blue Wahoos a 7-6 victory against the Mississippi Braves, as another sellout crowd celebrated at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
“It’s kind of something I’ve gotten used to,” said Blue Wahoos starting pitcher M.D. Johnson, who worked five solid innings in his outing. “It’s like once we do get to the bottom of the ninth, whether we’re down one, or we are tied, it’s like ‘Who is going to do it? Someone is going to do it.”
In this case, the Blue Wahoos built a 6-3 lead after five innings. But the M-Braves got a pair of runs in the eighth inning. In the top of the ninth, leadoff batter Cade Brunnel drew a walk from Blue Wahoos reliever Matt Pushard. A pinch-runner, Geraldo Quintero was inserted.
Quintero used his speed to steal second, then advanced to third on a fly ball to center. With two outs, two strikes, Yolbert Sanchez tied the game on a ground ball single through the hole between first and second. Pushard got the final out to head into the bottom of the ninth.
Paul McIntosh led off with a walk. Rosario was inserted as a pinch-runner. Jacob Berry swung and missed a third strike from reliever Jorge Juan, but the ball eluded catcher Tyler Tolve, allowing both runners to advance.
Another wild pitch sent Rosario to third and he scored on a wild pitch.
The joyous crowd of 5,038 then watched the season’s first fireworks display.
After playing games to quiet settings on back fields in the Miami Marlins spring training complex, Johnson said the setting the first two games of 2024 has been a welcome change.
“In spring training, everyone is just ready to get to the season,” he said. “You just want to get out of Jupiter. And here, with as much as fans as we have, you don’t have to build up to that energy level. It’s just there.
“The crowds here are amazing. I have been through four levels (of minor leagues) if you count short season in the Marlins system. But the crowds here in Pensacola are absolutely amazing and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else.”
Earlier in the game, it was a another big night for left fielder Tanner Allen. The Mobile native and former Mississippi State star drove in a run in the first inning, went 3-for-4 at the plate and scored a run.
Shortstop Javier Sanoja had a big hit with a two-run double in the fifth inning.
GAME NOTABLES
The Tiger Point Sports Association celebrated its youth baseball organization with a parade of 200-plus kids on the field during pregame ceremonies.
ON DECK
WHAT: Blue Wahoos Season-Opening Weekend
WHO: Mississippi Braves vs. Blue Wahoos.
WHEN: Sunday, 4:05 p.m.
WHERE: Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Jay Native Earns Navy Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist Qualification Aboard USS Russell
April 7, 2024
Petty Officer 2nd Class Tyler Shook, a native of Jay and 2016 Central High School graduate, recently earned the Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist qualification while serving aboard USS Russell.
Shook joined the Navy four years ago. Today Shook serves as an information systems technician.
According to Navy officials, the Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist qualification signifies that a sailor has achieved the highest level of expertise in surface ships and in surface warfare.
“Being recognized for my knowledge of my craft is an honor and a great professional achievement for me,” said Shook.
Russell is an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer named for Rear Admiral John Henry Russell Sr. and his son, John Henry Russell Jr. John Henry Russell Sr. served during the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War and John Henry Russell Jr. was the 16th Commandant of the Marine Corps.
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers provide a wide range of warfighting capabilities in multi-threat air, surface and subsurface environments.
A Navy destroyer is a multi-mission ship that can operate independently or as part of a larger group of ships at sea. The ship is equipped with tomahawk missiles, torpedoes, guns and a phalanx close-in weapons system.
More than 300 sailors serve aboard USS Russell. Their jobs are highly specialized, requiring both dedication and skill. The jobs range from maintaining engines to handling weaponry along with a multitude of other assignments that keep the ship mission-ready at all times, according to Navy officials.
Photo: U.S. Navy for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Cancer Sucks: Tate’s Strike Out Cancer Games Surpass $200,000 For The Fight Against Cancer
April 6, 2024
The first year, they raised $2,550 and didn’t know if they would ever beat that mark.
Friday night, the Tate Aggies surpassed the $200,000 mark over the years at the 14th annual Tate Aggie Softball Strike Out Cancer game. It all benefits the local chapter of the American Cancer Society.
“You guys are amazing. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,” Tate head coach Melinda Wyatt told a large crowd before the game.
Last year, the game raised $27,755 for the fight against cancer. Friday night’s total had passed $24,000 as donations continued.
“I thought of three things that could probably sum it all up. We hate cancer. Cancer sucks. We need your money.”
For a Strike Out Cancer photo gallery, click here.
For a game action photo gallery, click here.
“That you to the Tate community,” Escambia Schools Superintendent Keith Leonard said before throwing the ceremonial first pitch. “I want you to know that we hate cancer, cancer sucks, but we love you.”
Survivors and current cancer patients and their families lined up on the field to tell their stories.
“My husband is struggling right now with cholangiocarcinoma bile duct cancer; please say a prayer for my husband,” the first speaker said tearfully.
“I’m Shannon Thompson And I just went through breast cancer and in remission and blessed to be here today.”
“I’m Evan Morgan and I’ve had breast cancer, two, lung, cancers and you’ll be fine, you’ll be fine,” the 1968 Escambia High School graduate reassured the others.
“My name is Natalee Hoffman,” the nine-year-old said as she stood tall in the pitcher’s circle holding a single carnation. “I have kidney cancer. Thank you all very much.”
During the game, the Lady Jaguars defeated the Lady Aggies 7-0.
For a game action photo gallery, click here.
Sydney Scapin earned the win for the Jags, giving up no hits and no runs in seven innings, striking out 17 and walking three. For Tate, Peyton Womack took the loss, surrendering five runs and six hits, striking out four and walking two over four innings. J. Smith closed in the circle for Tate, allowing six hits and two runs while striking out four and walking one.
Brea Holley and Abagayle Cogdill had three hits each for West Florida. Scapin, Holey, Cogdill and Macey Vegas each drove in runs.
Northview Chiefs Wallop Escambia Gators 16-1 In Four Friday Innings
April 6, 2024
The Northview Lady Chiefs walloped the Escambia Lady Gators 16-1 in a run-ruled shortened four innings Friday evening in Bratt.
The Chiefs scored 13 runs in in the third inning to secure the big win. Riley Brooks tripped to score three of those runs, two were on an Avery Stucky double, and three were scored on walks.
The Gator led at the end of one, and the Chiefs tied it up in the second when Mikayla McAnally scored.
Stucky started in the circle, giving up just one hit and one run in two innings, walking two and striking out three. Daviona Randolph threw two innings of scoreless ball in relief for the Chiefs, surrendering two hits while striking out three and walking two.
Stuckey and Chloe Ragsdale had two hits each for Northview. Stuckey and Brooks drove in three runs each for NHS.
The sure-handed Chiefs had no errors.
Up next, Northview will be at Choctaw at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
NorthEscambia.com photo.
13th Suspect Arrested For Trying To Lure Minors For Sex In Escambia County
April 6, 2024
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), State Attorney Ginger Bowden Madden, the Escambia and Santa Rosa county sheriff’s offices, Pensacola and Fort Walton Beach police departments, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI), Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and U.S. Marshals Service participated in the operation that was announced in March.
Friday, FDLE announced the arrest of David Gibbs, 36.
During the multiday operation, FDLE said Gibbs communicated with an undercover investigator who posed as a parent of an 11-year-old female child. During the communication, Gibbs transmitted child sexual abuse material to the undercover investigator, and asked sexually explicit questions about the child, agents said. Through further investigative methods, Gibb’s location was identified, and a search warrant was executed on April 3
Those previously arrested were:
- Darryl Lamont Hart, 57, Pensacola, arrested Feb. 23
- Clayton Patrick Costello, 37, Hoover, Alabama, arrested Feb. 24
- Randy Edgar Powell, 52, Pensacola, arrested Feb. 24
- Telvan Latrell Williams, 28, Mobile, Alabama, arrested Feb. 24
- Kriss Lashawn Gilmore, 31, Foley, Alabama, arrested Feb. 24
- Alex Michael Durlock, 24, Fort Walton Beach, arrested Feb. 25
- Jordan Christopher Belton, 28, Pensacola, arrested Feb. 25
- Raphael Rochelle Brooks, 39, Robertsdale, Alabama, arrested Feb. 25
- William John Nordstrom, 64, Pensacola, arrested Feb. 25
- Eric Wintin Long, 33, Montgomery, Alabama, arrested Feb. 26
- Patrick Jay Dehnel, 33, Slidell, Louisiana, arrested Feb. 28
- Jamaine Antonia Johnson, 32, Pensacola, arrested March 4
All were booked into the Escambia County Jail.
“These suspects asked for lewd photos and communicated in graphic sexual terms. Luckily our FDLE agents and analysts, along with our partners, found them before they found our children. And while this operation is finished, we are not. The work of these investigators continues because we know there are more predators out there just waiting for the opportunity to hurt a child,” FDLE Pensacola Special Agent in Charge Chris Williams said.
“The “Kessel Run” joint operation is an example of law enforcement partnerships, enabling the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) to leverage combined expertise and effort, to target online sexual predators who attempt to prey on our communities. NCIS thanks the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, federal and state agencies, and local partners for the continued collaboration on impactful joint internet operations to protect the communities where our warfighters and their families reside,” said NCIS Supervisory Special Agent Myles Roy.
“Working together, the FBI and our local law enforcement partners have prevented these predators from victimizing the most innocent and vulnerable members of our community,” said FBI Jacksonville’s Acting Special Agent in Charge Mark Dargis. “Let these arrests be a warning to others – law enforcement will not tolerate the exploitation of children, and we will be relentless in our efforts to identify and locate predators who seek to abuse them.”
“These predators preyed on the innocence of children by knowingly engaging in lewd and lascivious online conduct, only to take it a step further and agreeing to meet in person and turn those conversations into action,” said Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) Tallahassee Assistant Special Agent in Charge Nicholas Ingegno. “Operation Kessel Run was a successful joint investigation, but there is still more work that must be done. HSI, alongside our law enforcement partners, will never rest in identifying, investigating, and prosecuting predators who seek to use children for their perverse behaviors and make them lifelong victims.”
Blue Wahoos Open Season With 8-6 Win Over M-Braves
April 6, 2024
written by Bill Vilona
In a perfect match to the setting, Tanner Allen dazzled on opening night for the Blue Wahoos.
Allen, a former Mobile prep star who became an All-American in 2021 while helping Mississippi State win the College World Series, went 3-for-4 and drove in four runs as the Blue Wahoos outslugged the Mississippi Braves 8-6 Friday before an overflow, sellout crowd of 5,000-plus at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
“It is a true blessing. It was an unbelievable night,” said Allen, who joined the Blue Wahoos in mid-August last year. “I mean, Pensacola showed out tonight. We had a packed house. Fans brought the energy and we kinda fed off it the whole game.
It was a great game and really made me look forward to (Saturday),” said Allen, a fourth-round pick by the Miami Marlins in 2021. “Every time you come to the ballpark on opening day you have those opening day jitters and for me I almost can’t even sit still. So, I was doing stuff all day to try and keep my mind occupied.
“I don’t care if you’re playing in front of a hundred thousand or five people, your knees are going to be shaking and for me, when you see that first pitch go by, it’s like, hey it’s the same game I’ve played my entire life. It’s time to go.”
The game began Friday, backlit by a postcard-perfect, blue sky, the shimmering beauty of Pensacola Bay and a buzz throughout the stadium with fans even covering the outfield berm in right center.
After the M-Braves scored in the first inning, Blue Wahoos starter Evan Fitterer then pitched out of a bases-loaded jam with no outs. He struck out the next two batters and got an infield grounder to end the inning.
That proved pivotal.
The Blue Wahoos’ Jacob Berry, the Marlins top draft pick in 2022, blasted a shot over that right-center berm and out of the ballpark to tie the game.
The M-Braves then took a 3-1 lead in the second. But Allen changed that with his two-run double that followed Cody Morrisette’s RBI single.
It was also big game for Morissette, who had three hits, including a solo homer in fourth inning to put the Blue Wahoos ahead 4-3. The second baseman also helped turned a pair of double plays that thwarted M-Braves’ scoring chances.
There were 12 runs scored and 20 hits after the first five innings with the Blue Wahoos taking a 7-5 lead. Allen’s two-run single was part of that. The teams finishes with 24 hits combined (13 for the Blue Wahoos). Each team also used five pitchers apiece.
The Blue Wahoos bullpen that followed Fitterer was outstanding. Angel Macuare, Chandler Jozwiak, Zach McCambley and closer Austin Roberts combined to throw 4.2 innings, give up just three hits, one run and struck out eight batters.
With a sizeable portion of the crowd on its feet, Roberts threw a perfect changeup to strike out Justin Dean with the tying run on base to end the game and bring a roar from the stadium.
“It may have been the best crowd I have ever played in front of as a professional,” said Allen, who played high school baseball in Mobile at UMS-Wright School.
GAME NOTABLES.
This was the first game, too, with a new start time (6:05 p.m.) for all night games this season. Seven new food items at the storefronts.
It was also the first game in team history with fans going through security metal detectors at all three entrances to Blue Wahoos Stadium. This is something that Major League Baseball has in all 30 stadiums nationwide and has urged its minor league affiliates to follow suit.
On a Giveaway Friday, the first 1,000 fans receiving a blue denim, adjustable baseball hat, sponsored by LandrumHR. The company also filled the Winn-Dixie party deck with a group of 300 in right field.
Fans were treated to a Navy jet flyover that occurred seconds after the National Anthem.
Three fighter jets, VT-86 Saberhawks from Naval Air Station-Pensacola roared over the stadium. The jets began their journey with a turn 12 miles off the coast of Pensacola and reached the stadium in 90 seconds.
ON DECK
WHAT: Blue Wahoos Season-Opening Weekend
WHO: Mississippi Braves vs. Blue Wahoos.
WHEN: Saturday, 7:05 p.m.
WHERE: Blue Wahoos Stadium.