NCAA Div II National Volleyball Championship To Be Held In Pensacola
May 30, 2012
The 2012 NCAA Div. II Volleyball National Championship Tournament will be held in Pensacola, hosted by the Pensacola Sports Association in partnership with the University of West Florida.
Eight teams will make their way to Pensacola to play in the quarterfinals, semifinals, and national championship rounds. All games will be played at the University of West Florida Field House from Thursday, December 6 to Saturday, December 8.
“We are very excited about this opportunity to again showcase Pensacola and UWF’s facilities to the qualifying schools,” said PSA Executive Director Ray Palmer. “We’re fortunate to have such a great working relationship with UWF which allows us to win the hosting bids for these prestigious NCAA athletic events.”
This is not the first time Pensacola will host a NCAA national championship. In 2006, PSA and UWF hosted the NCAA Div. II Fall Festival which featured national championships in Men’s and Women’s Cross Country, Men’s and Women’s Soccer, Women’s Field Hockey, and Women’s Volleyball. Additionally, in 2011, PSA and UWF again partnered to host the 2011 Men’s and Women’s Soccer National Championships played at Escambia County’s Ashton Brosnaham Soccer Complex.
“The PSA has been a great partner in recruiting these national events,” said UWF Athletic Director Dave Scott. “Only a select number of communities get the opportunity to host NCAA championships. We’re looking forward to once again showcasing UWF and the Pensacola community.”
Complete List: Northview Presents Awards For Grades 9-11
May 30, 2012
Northview High School recently held their annual Awards Program for students in the ninth to eleventh grades.
Awards recipients were as follows:
(HAA denotes “High Academic Honors”)
Agriculture
- Exemplary Freshman – Tiffani Cruce
- Exemplary Sophomore – Login Wainwright
- Exemplary Junior – Jessica Baldwin
- HAA Award – Courtney Solari
Art
- 2D Freshman HAA – Kyndall Hall
- 2D Sophomore HAA – Autumn Pierce
- 2D Junior HAA – Maranda Moye
- 3D Freshman HAA – Samantha Sharpless
- 3D Freshman HAA – Cara Thompson
- 3D Junior HAA – Allison Bardin
- Art Exemplary – Cheyenne Glenn
English
- English 1 Hon HAA – Samantha Sharpless
- English 1 Hon Exemplary – Desiree Elliard
- English 1 HAA – Tiffani Cruce
- English 1 Exemplary – Aaliyah Creamer
- English 2 Hon HAA – Kasie Braun
- English 2 Hon Exemplary – Chelsea Ward
- English 2 HAA – Mashama Codrington
- English 2 Exemplary – Issac McGahan
- English 3 Hon HAA – Jazzlyn Franklin
- English 3 HAA – Johnnie Smith
- English 3 Exemplary – Deidre Steele
Family And Consumer Science
- Freshman HAA – Kamryn Brock
- Sophomore HAA – Kasie Braun
- Junior Family HAA – Alison Bardin
Math
- Algebra 1B HAA – Rebekah Sepulveda
- Algebra 1B Exemplary – Audrey Byrd
- Algebra 1B Exemplary – Tyaisha Davison
- Algebra 1 HAA – Kendal Cobb
- Algebra 1 Exemplary – Megan Bryan
- Algebra 1 Hon HAA – Joshua Borelli
- Algebra 1 Hon Exemplary – Aaliyah Creamer
- Liberal Arts HAA – Devon Cotrell
- Geometry HAA – Ali Martin
- Geometry Exemplary – Mikaela Santos
- Geometry Hon HAA – Courtney Solari
- Geometry Hon Exemplary – Samantha Sharpless
- Algebra 2 HAA – Julia Thorpe
- Algebra 2 Exemplary – Ashton Gibbs
- Algebra 2 Exemplary – Tierra Floyd
- Algebra 2 Hon HAA – Kasie Braun
- Algebra 2 Hon Exemplary — Victoria Wright
- Pre-Calculus HAA — Justin Halteman
Band Awards
- Band HAA – Stephanie Roach
- Band Exemplary – Cory Hester
- Band Exemplary – Taylor Brook
- Guitar HAA – Ashton Gibbs
- Guitar Exemplary – Kelton Wooten
Science
- Physical Science Honors HAA – Kelton Wooten
- Physical Science Honors Exemplary – Samantha Sharpless
- Physical Science HAA – Kendal Cobb
- Physical Science Exemplary – Addy Lee
- Biology Honors HAA – Anna Donald
- Biology Honors Exemplary – Rebecca Grim
- Biology HAA – Mariah Albritton
- Anatomy Honors HAA – Jazzlyn Franklin
- Anatomy Honors Exemplary – Justin Halteman
- Physics Honors HAA – Justin Halteman
- Physics Honors Exemplary – Jazzlyn Franklin
- Physics HAA – Skylar Macks
- Physics Exemplary – Jessica Baldwin
- Environmental Science HAA – Jessica Baldwin
- Environmental Science Exemplary – Ashton Gibbs
Social Studies
- American History Hon HAA – Jazzlyn Franklin
- American History Hon Exemplary – Justin Halteman
Spanish
- Spanish 1 HAA – Mashama Codrington
- Spanish 1 Exemplary – Jessica McCullough
- Spanish 2 HAA – Jazzlyn Franklin
- Spanish 2 Exemplary – Hannah Fiellin
Reading
- Freshman Reading HAA – Cameron Newsome
- Freshman Reading HAA – Rickey Smith
- Freshman Reading HAA – Joshua Borelli
- Freshman Reading Exemplary – Alliyiah Henderson
- Freshman Reading Exemplary – Addy Lee
- Freshman Reading Exemplary – Iyanna Davidson
- Freshman Read 180 FCAT I HAA – Breanna Payne
- Freshman Read 180 FCAT I Exemplary – Breanna Payne
- Freshman Read 180 FCAT II HAA – Lakelynn Parker
- Freshman Read 180 FCAT II Exemplary – Kristen Byrd
- Sophomore Reading HAA – Jodi Ard
- Sophomore Reading HAA – Jody Bonner
- Sophomore Reading HAA – Dakota Craft
- Sophomore Reading Exemplary – Natasha Peebles
- Sophomore Reading Exemplary – Rebecca Grim
- Sophomore Reading Exemplary – Rebekah Sepulveda
- Junior Reading Exemplary – Briana Harris
Vocational
- Construction Technology I HAA – Elayzha Bates
- Construction Technology I Exemplary – Hunter Poston
- Construction Technology II HAA – Jessica Baldwin
- Construction Technology II Exemplary – Aaron McCants
- Construction Technology III HAA – Demontra Mitchell
- Construction Technology III Exemplary – Laderious Franklin
- Drafting I HAA – Kyndall Hall
- Drafting I Exemplary – Dustin Parker
- Drafting II HAA – Aaron Rausch
- Drafting II Exemplary – Jessica Baldwin
- Introduction To Information Tech HAA – Courtney Solari
- Introduction To Information Tech Exemplary – Morgan Digmon
- Digital Design I HAA – Anna Donald
- Digital Design Exemplary – Tamara Green
- Digital Design II HAA – Anna Donald
NHS Business Tech Certifications – Photoshop CS4
- Freshmen
- Jessica McCall
- Sophomores
- Mariah Albritton
- Ryan Ashcraft
- Colton Brown
- Kaitlynne Calloway
- Anna Donald
- Shaina Gibson
- Tamara Green
- Steven Gregory
- Courtney Weaver
- Victoria Wright
- Juniors
- Dylan Cartwright
- Nysha’ Dunn
- Alisha Grice
- Brandon King
- Kassey Redmond
VFW Essay Contest
- Kasie Braun
- Victoria Wright
American Legion
- Academics — Courtney Jones
- Leadership — Dylan Cartwright
VFW Academics
- Joshua Borelli
JROTC Celebrate Freedom Award for Academics
- Alec Okahashi
Youth Leadership Atmore Award
- Julia Thorpe
2012 Rotary Club Academic All-Stars
- Ninth Grade
- Annie Lorene Bobo
- Joshua Joseph Borelli
- Megan Paige Bryan
- Kendal Brooke Cobb
- Aaliyah Delois Creamer
- Austin Blake Cunningham
- Kyndall Lauren Hall
- Julie Beth Hester
- Jessica Leigh McCullough
- Aaron Thomas McDonald
- Tristan Hunter Portwood
- Mallory Mason Ryan
- Samantha Elizabeth Sharpless
- Kelton Joe Wooten
- Tenth Grade
- Madison Brooke Arrington
- Kasie Lee Braun
- Dale Wayne Brown
- Audrey Leigh Byrd
- Lana Leigh Clayton
- Morgan Nicole Digmon
- Anna Elizabeth Donald
- Chloe Vanessa Leonard
- Jessica Nicole Lowery
- Rachel Ann Presley
- Hilery Danielle Scott
- Courtney Yvonne Solari
- Jeremy Logan Stacey
- Danielle Nichole Steadham
- Lily Ann Townson
- Courtney Alexandra Weaver
- Victoria Anne Wright
- Eleventh Grade
- Jazzlyn Shanece Franklin
- Ashton Brooke Gibbs
- Justin Lance Halteman
- Zachary Sean Johnson
- Ashley Nicole Mooney
- Julia Renee Thorpe
- Twelfth Grade
- Jamila Akilah Codrington
- Josie Britt Doucette
- Amber Dianne Francis (four year)
- Jacob Nathaniel Gibson
- Alexandra Nicole Riggs
- Lydia Ann Weaver
- Elizabeth Ashley Wright
Romney Clinches GOP Nomination With Texas Win
May 30, 2012
With a win in Texas Tuesday, Mitt Romney clinched the required number of delegates for the Republican nomination to face President Obama in the general election.
“I am honored that Americans across the country have given their support to my candidacy and I am humbled to have won enough delegates to become the Republican Party’s 2012 presidential nominee. Our party has come together with the goal of putting the failures of the last three and a half years behind us,” Romney said Tuesday night.
With the addition of at least 88 delegate in Texas, Romney surpassed the 1,144 delegates needed to become the GOP candidate.
“I have no illusions about the difficulties of the task before us. But whatever challenges lie ahead, we will settle for nothing less than getting America back on the path to full employment and prosperity. On November 6, I am confident that we will unite as a country and begin the hard work of fulfilling the American promise and restoring our country to greatness,” he added.
Pictured: Mitt Romney campaigns in January at The Fish House in Pensacola. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Prison Health Privatization Set For Court Ruling
May 30, 2012
With opponents arguing that lawmakers can’t make such changes in the “recesses of the budget,” a Leon County circuit judge heard arguments Tuesday about the constitutionality of a plan to contract with private companies for prison health services.
Judge Kevin Carroll, who held a two-hour hearing, did not give a specific time when he will rule but indicated a decision might come early next week. The Florida Nurses Association and a state-employees union are challenging a legislative move last year to privatize health care at prisons throughout Florida.
The case centers on a decision by legislative leaders to include the move in budget fine print known as “proviso” language. The opponents say such policy decisions need to be made by changing state law, not including them in the budget.
“It needs to be debated back and forth, the pros and cons,” said Thomas Brooks, an attorney for the union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
But Jonathan Glogau, chief of complex litigation in the Attorney General’s Office, said lawmakers could use proviso language in privatizing health services. He said the key is that the proviso language must be “directly and rationally” related to the part of the budget it carries out — in this case, inmate health care.
“Here’s a pot of money for prison health care,” Glogau said at one point, describing the relationship. “Here’s how to spend it.”
Carroll asked some questions during the hearing but did not hint how he will rule. He emphasized, however, that he will look only at the legal issues — not the broader controversy about whether it is wise for lawmakers to turn over prison health care to private companies.
“It’s clearly not my job (to decide the wisdom),” said Carroll, who added he expects his ruling to be appealed.
The hearing came almost exactly a month before the 1st District Court of Appeal is scheduled to listen to arguments about another legislative plan to privatize 29 prison facilities across the southern part of the state. Circuit Judge Jackie Fulford last year ruled that the plan, which also was included in proviso language in the 2011-12 budget, was unconstitutional.
Privatization is a hotly debated issue, in part, because state employees fear they will lose jobs or see pay or benefit cuts if contractors provide public services. Two licensed-practical nurses who work in the prison system are named plaintiffs in the case argued Tuesday.
The health-care proviso directed the Department of Corrections to seek proposals from companies and called for privatization to lead to cost savings of at least 7 percent for the state, compared to 2009-10 expenses. The process led to the department recommending that Corizon, Inc., receive a contract for prisons in North and Central Florida, and that Wexford Health Sources receive a contract in South Florida.
A heavily debated issue in the lawsuit is whether state law already gave the Department of Corrections the authority to privatize health services, regardless of the proviso language. Glogau said the department has the authority and had already completed a business plan for privatization of the services before lawmakers started the 2011 session.
But M. Stephen Turner, an attorney for the Florida Nurses Association, described the potential contracting as “proviso-driven procurement.”
“The department’s discretion is not being exercised,” Turner said. “It is the proviso that is being followed.”
By The News Service of Florida
Former NHS Quarterback, Three Other Teens Arrested
May 30, 2012
The former quarterback for the Northview High Chiefs and three other teens were arrested late Monday night on underage alcohol and drug charges.
Brandon Lee Sheets, age 18 of Century; Taylor Christiane McCurry, age 18 of Molino; Dakota Ray Smith, age 19 of Molino; and John Everette, age 18, of Atmore, were each charged with possession of alcohol under 21 years of age, marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia. All four were released from the Escambia County Jail on $1,500 bond each.
Sheets quarterback for the 2012 Northview High School Chiefs. He was suspended from his final game in the state playoff series by the Florida High School Athletic Association for alleged taunting, forced to sit out a state semifinal game against Chipley.
Late Monday night, an Escambia County deputy reported finding the teens in the area of 7200 Plantation Way, behind the former University Mall. After receiving consent to search the vehicle, the deputy reported finding a two small baggies containing marijuana, a brown plastic marijuana cigarette, a “rolling device”, rolling papers, a homemade smoking device made from a Keystone beer can and a bottle of Southern Comfort that was about half full. The deputy also reported finding a small portable air compressor in the vehicle that he believed to be used in conjunction with the smoking device, according to arrest reports.
All four individuals admitted to possession of alcohol, according to arrest reports, but all four denied any knowledge of the marijuana or the drug paraphernalia.
All four were charged, the arrest report states, because one baggie of the marijuana and the rolling papers were in plain view in the center area of the vehicle.
Florida’s Tax Revenues Higher Than Expected
May 30, 2012
Florida’s general-revenue collections in April topped an earlier projection by $51.4 million, according to a report posted this week by the Legislature’s Office of Economic & Demographic Research.
The April report marked the fourth straight month that collections have exceeded the amounts projected in January by state analysts. In all, the state is $202.4 million above projections for the year.
General revenue is the key source of tax dollars for many state programs and plummeted in recent years with the economic recession and slow recovery. It is made up of a variety of types of taxes, including sales taxes, which exceeded estimates by $34.5 million in April, the report says.
Three Injured, Two Charged After Wreck
May 30, 2012
Three people were injured in a two vehicle crash Tuesday afternoon on Old Palafox (Highway 95A) near Floral Tree Gardens in Gonzalez.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 59-year old Grover L. Holley, Jr, of Pensacola, pulled his 1998 Pontiac out of a business entrance into the path of a 1998 Chevrolet Lumina driven by 21-year old Ashleigh M. Strickland of Pensacola. The collision forced both vehicles into a paved crossover to Highway 29.
Strickland, her unrestrained 3-year old passenger, and Holley received only minor injuries. All three were transported to Sacred Heart Hospital following the 2 p.m. crash.
Holley was charged with violation of right of way, while Strickland was charged with failure to display a driver’s license and improper child restraint, according to the FHP.
Pictured: There were no serious injuries in this crash Tuesday afternoon on Old Palafox (Highway 95A) in Gonzalez. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Smith, click to enlarge.
Generals Hand The Pcola Wahoos Their Second Straight Loss
May 30, 2012
The Jackson Generals used a pair of solo home runs for some much needed insurance as the Blue Wahoos lost their second straight to Jackson 4-2 from Pringles Park.
Pensacola got on the board first with an RBI double from Brodie Greene plating Ryan LaMarre in the top of the first. Jackson wasted no time answering with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning. Francisco Martinez came home from third on a sacrifice fly to center by Denny Almonte. Joe Dunigan followed that with a double and came home a batter later on Jesus Sucre’s single giving Jackson the lead.
Chih-Hsien Chiang hit his first home run of the year in the fourth, a solo blast while Kalian Sams hit his fourth big fly of the year in the sixth. The insurance runs proved necessary as the Blue Wahoos tacked on a run in the fifth. Joel Guzman singled home Didi Gregorius but that was the last of the offense. David Vidal grounded into an inning-ending double play a batter later leaving the tying run at third. The Wahoos only had one baserunner the rest of the game.
Wahoos starter J.C. Sulbaran (L, 3-4) was charged with the loss after allowing all four Generals runs over six innings. He walked just one and struck out three. Steve Garrison (W, 3-1) earned the win for the Generals. He was allowed both Blue Wahoos runs on seven hits over six innings. Steven Hensley (S, 2) picked up the save by striking out the side in order in the ninth.
The two teams meet in a matinee on Wednesday at Pringles Park in Jackson, Tenn. Pensacola sends right-hander Kyle Lotzkar (1-1, 1.10) to the mound against Jackson right-hander Taylor Stanton (2-1, 6.08 w/Advanced-A High Desert).
By Tommy Thrall
Photo by Chris Nelson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Upcoming Program – Cattle Management 101
May 30, 2012
The Escambia County Extension Service will present “Cattle Management 101: Establishing Yourself in the Cattle Industry”.
The program will cover such topics as getting started in the cattle industry, forages and nutrition, reproduction, herd health, marking and equipment. The cost is $30 per person and includes course materials.
The course will be presented on Thursdays from 6-8 p.m. from May 31 until June 28 at the Escambia County Extension Service on Stephani Road in Cantonment and the Santa Rosa Extension Service on Dogwood Drive in Milton.
For more information or to register, call the Escambia County office at (850) 475-5230 or the Santa Rosa County Office at (850) 623-3868.
Weather Photos: Storms Pound Area
May 30, 2012
The photo above shows lightning striking near Highway 29 in Cantonment Tuesday evening. Submitted by Allyson Bullard.
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Thunderstorms moved through the North Escambia area Tuesday evening, leaving behind scattered minor damage and putting a lot of households in the dark.
Hail was reported from Bratt south to Cantonment, while small trees and power lines were reported downed in the Jay, Molino and Cantonment areas. Both Escambia River Electric Cooperative and Gulf Power reported scattered power outages related to the storm. An exact number of customers without power was not available late Tuesday night.
The photographs on this page were submitted by NorthEscambia.com readers, providing a look at the weather across the area. When you see news or interesting weather, snap a photo and send it to news@northescambia.com.
Pictured: Gusty winds down trees on Williams Ditch Road Tuesday night in the Cottage Hill community. Photo by Tammie Neal.
This reader photo is of small hail Tuesday evening on Morgan Cemetery Road in Molino.
Pictured above: Gusty winds snapped this pine tree (center of photo behind pool) near on Azel Scott Lane just south Jay. Photo by Michelle Gibbs.
A double rainbow was visible south of Jay following Tuesday evening’s storms. Photo by Michelle Gibbs.
Reader submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.