Up For A Volleyball Team? Spring Scalpball Tournament Planned
April 25, 2012
The Northview High School volleyball team will host the Spring 2012 Scalpball Tournament on May 19.
It will be a four versus four volleyball tournament for anyone over the age of 14. There will be two divisions — 14-19 and age 20 and up. Teams can be all male or female, or they can be coed. There can be up to five players per team.
The tournament begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Northview gym and the First Baptist Church of Bratt gym, with the finals to be played at Northview.
Team fees are $12 per player if paid by Friday, April 27, $14 per player if paid by May 11 and $15 per player if paid by May 16. Registration forms can be printed by clicking here, or obtained at Northview High School’s attendance desk or the Atmore YMCA.
All proceeds benefit the volleyball program at Northview High School.
For tournament information and a printable registration form click here (pdf).
Pictured top: Winners in the Spring 2011 Scalpball Tournament Team Bradley: Josh Bilon, Tara Bradley, Michael Bradley, Dan McDonald and Mike Dalton. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
4-H Approves $3.6 Million Navy Federal Land Deal
April 24, 2012
The children and teens on the Escambia 4-H County Council voted Monday to sell the 240 acre Langley Bell 4-H Center to Navy Federal Credit Union.
The young 4-H Council members, who represented 4-H Clubs across the county, voted 21-16 in favor of the sale and a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that specifies what happens next to 4-H.
The sale will next go to the Escambia County Commission, the members of which serve as trustees for the 4-H property. The MOU also creates a 4-H Extension Task Force to consider what happens next for 4-H between to proposed options.
“We plan on staying involved,” 4-H Council President Devon Bell, age 18, said. “Both options are out there, but there’s room for a lot of improvements on both options. We want the best for 4-H.”
If they agree to terms with the county, Navy Federal will pay $3.6 million for the property next to the credit union’s campus in Beulah. The Escambia Commission will also contibute $1.5 million in local option sales tax funds to construct a new 4-H building with the plans subject to the approval of the Extension Service.
Option one of the approved MOU will construct the new building on 23 acres at the Escambia County Extension Service on Stefani Road. The first option also provides for 20-30 acres next to the Roy Hyatt Environmental Center in cooperation with the Escambia County School Board for animal-related programs and other appropriate 4-H activities. This property will be in addition to the facility to be located at the Extension Service on Stefani Road.
The second option would allow for the purchase of other acreage and propert with up to $1.6 million of the Navy Federal sale proceeds for the use of the 4-H program. The “Friends of 4-H”, a group of of 4-H supporters, is calling for the purchase of former the former Bayer Crop Science Facility on Crabtree Church Road in Molino. The 250 acres stretches from Crabtree Church Road north to Highway 97 near Molino Park Elementary School.
“We are going to keep pressure on the Extension Office to make sure the MOU is followed regardless of the option chosen,” said Jacob Gilmore, Friends of 4-H member. “The $1.6 million available from the Langley Bell purchase could be used for the purchase of the Bayer property. We would like to see the Extension Office moved to the Bayer property.”
“We do want to keep the pressure on and be involved in the process to make sure the 4-H’ers receive the best,” Whitney Fike, another Friends of 4-H member.
George Carpenter, president of the Escambia County 4-H Foundation, also agreed that the process will be watched for the best interest of the young 4-H members.
“Regardless of the commission votes and what happens next, we will be looking out for the 4-H’ers,” Carpenter said. “If this all works out and the property is sold, it can be a win-win for 4-H and Navy Federal. But we will be working to protect the interests of 4-H.”
“This really is all about the youth,” Wilson Robertson, chairman of the Escambia County Commission and 4-H trustee, said. “We have tried to step out of the way, but we will do what is in the best interest of the 4-H’ers.”
For a photo gallery, click here.
Pictured top: 4-H County Council President Devon Bell (right) watches as Sonya Daniel (left) and Wilma David from the Escambia County Supervisor of Elections Office count ballots on the sale of the Langley Bell 4-H Center to Navy Federal. Pictured top inset: Bell signs off on the ballot results. Pictured bottom inset: County Commission Chairman Wilson Robertson addresses 4-H supporters. Pictured below: Audience members watch as ballots are counted. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Union Pushes For ECAT Public Transit Gas Tax
April 24, 2012
The union that represents ECAT drivers is pushing for a new 3-cent gas tax to fund public transit in Escambia County.
After the Escambia County Commission considered, and decided against, cutting $3.7 million in funding for libraries, commissioners also mentioned the idea of cutting $3 million in funding for ECAT and replacing it with a 3-cent gas tax that would be in addition to the county’s current 10-cent levy.
Escambia County is facing a projected $9.5 million budget deficit this year, with $6.2 million of that money going to the state after a requirement that counties reimburse Tallahassee for unpaid Medicaid expenses that have been adding up for over a decade.
In a letter to the commission, Michael A. Lowery, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1395, said he supports the gas tax.
Lowery said the transit union supports the gas tax rather than closing libraries.
“The Union also stands strong behind maintaining our Library System for the great citizens of Escambia County and we would argue that having access to public libraries and funded by our County is crucial to support many of our lower income citizens and their children for furthering their education. Many of these citizens don’t have the ability and means to afford the books, internet, and library programs to be successful,” Lowery wrote.
He said the gas tax would cost the average Escambia County driver about $20 per year.
If the library funding had been cut, the Century Branch Library would have been closed, and the currently under-construction Molino Library would never open.
Pictured top: A gas war of sorts continued Monday in Cantonment and Molino, with several stations selling a gallon of regular for $3.65 — several cents below the rest of Escambia County. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Identities Released: Clerk, Robber Both Dead After Store Shootout
April 24, 2012
The identities have been released of a clerk and a robber both killed in a shootout at an Escambia County store Monday evening.
Shortly after 5 p.m., 33-year-old Joshua Levi Hilton of Pensacola entered the AC Grocery at the intersection of Pace Boulevard and Godfrey Street and robbed store clerk Terra Denise Fountain, age 41, at gunpoint, according to investigators.
During the robbery, Fountain retrieved a firearm, and both exchanged gunfire inside the store. Hilton managed to flee the store on foot, but collapsed a short distance away. Hilton was still clutching the gun and money he had taken, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. He died a short time later at a local hospital.
Fountain was pronounced dead at the scene.
There were no other suspects in the robbery, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Nearly two hours after the shooting, dozens of onlookers were still at the scene, watching as crime scene technicians processed evidence. Deputies stood watch, keeping the onlookers back from crime scene tape surrounding the parking lot of the small store. One of the glass windows of the store was shattered.
For a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery from the scene, click here.
Pictured top: Both a robber and store clerk died in a shootout at the AC Grocery on Pace Boulevard Monday evening. Pictured inset: An Escambia County Sheriff’s Office investigator works inside the store following the shootings. Pictured below: A crime scene technician (left) gathers evidence near a shattered window in the small grocery store. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Woman Caught With Drugs At Jail
April 24, 2012
A Cantonment woman is facing a felony drug charge after allegedly being caught with drugs on her person as she was being booked into the Escambia County Jail.
Caitlin Bagwell was charged with possession of controlled substance without a prescription.
She had been arrested at the Ensley Walmart when deputies responded to a suspicious vehicle complaint and found that she had an outstanding warrant for failure to appear in a traffic case.
A detention deputy found half a Xanax and another unknown pill which will be tested.
She was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $250 bond, according to jail records.
Santa Rosa To Join Escambia In Suit Over Medicaid Bills
April 24, 2012
Santa Rosa County is ready to join 27 other counties in Florida — including Escambia — in a Florida Association of Counties lawsuit over a new state Medicaid Law.
The Santa Rosa Commission voted unanimously in a Monday workshop to join the lawsuit. The vote must be ratified during the commission’s regular meeting on Thursday. The new Medicaid law allows the state to recoup tens of millions of dollars in disputed Medicaid costs from counties.
Under the law, Santa Rosa owes an estimated $1.5 million, while Escambia County owes about $6.2 million to the state for disputed Medicaid bills that have been adding up for about a decade.
The Legislature last month approved recouping the money, with leaders contending that counties have not fully made required Medicaid payments. The counties, however, argue that the state’s billing system has major flaws.
Escambia County, for instance, has found that it is being billed for residents of Santa Rosa County and even Alabama residents that used medical facilities in Pensacola.
Ernest Ward Middle Names March Students Of The Month
April 24, 2012
Ernest Ward Middle School has named March Students of the Month. They are: Rhayeshawanna Davidson, sixth grade; Hunter Kite, seventh grade; and Blake Green, eighth grade .
Pictured: March Students of the Month at Ernest Ward Middle School (L-R) Rhayeshawanna Davidson, Blake Green and Hunter Kite. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Man Sentenced To Jail For Stabbing Nine Mile Road Restaurant Owner
April 24, 2012
A Cantonment man that stabbed a Chinese restaurant owner in the neck after tying to skip out on his bill has pleaded guilty.
Connor James Stenson, 20, pleaded guilty to simple battery and petty theft. He was sentenced to 180 days in the county jail on the battery charge and a concurrent 60 days for petty theft. He will get credit for 77 days he has already spent behind bars awaiting trial.
Victim Shou Chen, owner of King Buffet, said Stenson ate a meal and left the building without paying his $16.95 food and drink bill.
Chen followed him to the parking lot and confronted him. That’s when Stenson pulled out a knife, according to an arrest report, and stabbed Chen in the neck, leaving him with a non-life threatening laceration about four inches long. A witness backed up Chen’s story.
Stenson was also ordered to pay $16.95 in restitution in addition to $870 in fines and costs. A judge also ordered him to stay away from the buffet restaurant.
Deputies: No Prior Reason To Suspect Abuse Of Mentally Handicapped Woman
April 24, 2012
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said Monday that they did not have any reason before Saturday to suspect that a young mentally handicapped woman was being abused.
The Sheriff’s Office had responded to a home in the 2800 block of Christine Street twice in recent months, according to Deputy Matt Baxter, ECSO spokesman. Nothing about those visits tipped off deputies that the 21-year old was being abused.
Deputies were called to the home Saturday after neighbors reported someone screaming in the backyard. They found the young woman outside, wearing a sandwich-board sign made of plywood and held around her neck with chains. She was crying, bleeding and walking in the rain around a swimming pool. She had worn a path into the ground she had walked so much. She said she was being punished for taking two pieces of candy.
The signs around her neck read “I am a liar and a theif” (sic) and the other read “I well not” (sic). The chains holding the signs had become sightly embedded in her neck.
Deputies also found that she had a four-inch gash in the back of her head. The victim said the suspects hit her with a bucket. Deputies found that the suspects had used superglue to attempt to close the wound. The next day the wound was still open so the suspect sewed it closed with a needle and thread.
Her adoptive parents — Rondal Floyd Hale, age 59, DeeAnn Marie Hale, age 58 — and a visiting friend — Clinton Michael Carr, age 53 — were charged with aggravated abuse of a disabled adult, a first degree felony. Deputies said additional charges may be filed. All three remained in the Escambia County Jail as of Tuesday morning. Bond for Rondal Hale and Carr was set at $100,000 each, while DeeAnn Hale was being held on $50,000 bond.
Neighbors told a Pensacola media outlet over the weekend that they had called deputies before to report that the woman was being abused. But that’s not really the case, according to Sheriff’s Office records.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to the home on March 31 for a reported disturbance, Baxter said. The noise turned about to be from a pool party, with several children playing and screaming in the pool. Baxter said the person that called the Sheriff’s Office refused contact from a deputy.
Last December, an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputy went to the home at the request of Florida Department of Children and Families investigator. The deputy was simply on “standby” outside the home, Baxter said, and had no part of any investigation. DCF did not report finding any signs of abuse during the visit.
The 21-year old victim was transported to a local hospital under the custody of DCF. It was not known Monday if she remained in the hospital or her condition.
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Win 10-4, Even Biscuit Series At Two
April 24, 2012
The Blue Wahoos bounced back on Monday night after back to back losses to beat the Montgomery Biscuits 10-4 at Riverwalk Stadium. After a four-run first inning, the Blue Wahoos never looked back as they evened the series at two games apiece.
Joel Guzman and P.J. Phillips both delivered two-run doubles in the first inning to put the Wahoos in front in front 4-0. The Biscuits responded with a run in the bottom of the inning against Blue Wahoos starter Tim Crabbe (W, 1-0). It was the only run he would allow until the sixth inning.
After giving up back to back singles in the bottom of the second, the Wahoo starter proceeded to retire the next 12 batters he faced from the second inning through the fifth. He walked the first two batters of the sixth, but still got out of the inning after allowing just those two runners to score.
The offense got cranked up again in the seventh when Henry Rodriguez doubled home Miguel Rojas and Ryan LaMarre. The Wahoos added four additional runs in ninth to make it 10-3. Montgomery added a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth from Greg Sexton to cap the scoring for the game.
Five Blue Wahoos had multi-hit games for Pensacola. LaMarre, Didi Gregorius, Rodriguez and Guzman all had two hits while Cody Puckett finished the game 3-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI. Gregorius’ two-hit game raised his average to a league leading .403.
Crabbe earned his first win of the season with his longest start of the year. Kyle Lobstein (L, 1-2) allowed all four first-inning runs and gave up six hits over four innings in the losing effort.
The two teams wrap up the series in Montgomery on Tuesday. The Blue Wahoos will send right-hander J.C. Sulbaran (1-1, 2.65) to the mound against Montgomery righty Joe Cruz (1-2, 5.02). First pitch is set for 10:35 a.m. at Riverwalk Stadium.
By Tommy Thrall
Pictured top: Tim Crabbe worked a season-high six innings in his first win of the season. Photo courtesy Emmele Photography for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.