Mobile Evens Series With 6-2 Win Over Pensacola Wahoos
July 21, 2012
Mobile shortstop Chris Owings collected three base knocks and second baseman David Nick’s two-run double in the fourth proved to be the game-winner, while Pensacola shortstop Billy Hamilton recorded his 112th steal of the year as the BayBears defeated the Blue Wahoos 6-2 on Friday night at Hank Aaron Stadium in Mobile, Alabama.
The victory for Mobile evens the series at 1-1 and improves the BayBears to a 13-15 record in the second half, while the Fish fell to 16-12 with the loss. A large contingent of Blue Wahoos fans were in attendance, many season-ticket holders who took advantage of a free bus trip and tickets for them from Pensacola.
The BayBears began the scoring in the opening frame, taking an early 2-0 advantage. Nick drew a free pass and Owings doubled before Nick came across on a groundout, while Owings scored on a sacrifice fly to center from 3B Matt Davidson.
The contest would be drawn even in the third, when Pensacola plated two tallies. Hamilton led off with a walk and stole second, ahead of CF Ryan LaMarre reaching on a hit by pitch, which was followed by back-to-back RBI singles from 1B Beau Mills and LF Donald Lutz.
The theft was the 112th of the year for Hamilton, placing him alone in seventh for the highest total in a single-season as the speedster continues to chase Vince Coleman’s Minor League Baseball record of 145. It was also the eighth steal for Hamilton with Pensacola after swiping 104 with High-A Bakersfield before his promotion late last month.
Mobile however, would answer back in the bottom of the frame and by taking advantage of a pair of Blue Wahoos errors. Owings reached on a base hit and RF Marc Krauss’ walked before Davidson reached on an error, with Owings scoring on the play, while Krauss came plateward on a second fielding miscue.
Owings ((3-4, 2 R) and 1B Ryan Strieby (3-4) each collected three base knocks in the contest for the BayBears, while LaMarre (2-3, 1 R) and Mills (2-4, 1 RBI) each tallied multi-hit efforts in the defeat. Mills with his hits has now reached base in all 25 of his games with Pensacola this year since being acquired on June 22 from the Cleveland Indians organization.
BayBears starting pitcher Chase Anderson (5.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO) earned the win after yielding two earned runs on six hits in his five innings of work. The bullpen trio of Frank Santana (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 SO), Eury De La Rosa (1.2 IP) and Evan Marshall (1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB) followed Anderson by combining to allow only one hit in the final four frames.
Blue Wahoos RHP Daniel Corcino (5.0 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO) suffered the loss to fall to 7-5 on the year, while relievers Wilkin De La Rosa (2.0 IP, 1 H, 2 SO) and Brian Pearl (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 SO) combined to fire the final three scoreless innings in support of Corcino.
With the series even at 1-1, Mobile and Pensacola will face off again Saturday night, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. at Hank Aaron Stadium. RHP J.C. Sulbaran is scheduled to get the nod for the Fish, while Mobile is expected to send LHP Chase Holmberg to the hill.
By Andrew Green
Pictured: Ryan LaMarre tallied two hits in the Blue Wahoos’ 6-2 loss Friday night. Photo by Chris Nelson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge
Viacom Networks Return To DIRECTV
July 20, 2012
DIRECTV has reached a new long-term agreement with Viacom to restore 17 channels that were removed from the satellite service on July 10. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Channels that have now returned include including Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV, BET, Spike, CMT, TV Land and 10 other channels.
In addition to the channels’ return, DIRECTV customers will also gain the ability to see Viacom programming on tablets, laptops, handhelds and other personal devices via the DIRECTV Everywhere platform.
. “We are very pleased to be able to restore the channels to our customers and thank them for their unprecedented patience and support,” said Derek Chang, executive vice president of Content Strategy and Development for DIRECTV. “It’s unfortunate that Viacom took the channels away from customers to try to gain leverage, but in the end, it’s clear our customers recognized that tactic for what it was.”
“Viacom is extremely pleased to bring its programming back to DIRECTV subscribers, and thanks everyone affected by the disruption for their patience and understanding during this challenging period,” Viacom said in a released statement.
12 Dead, 59 Injured In Colorado Theater Shooting, Suspect Named
July 20, 2012
Police in Colorado say 12 people were shot to death and at least 59 wounded in a shooting at a movie theater the Denver suburb of Aurora.
Authorities say the midnight premier of “The Dark Knight Rises,” the latest Batman movie, had just begun at the Century 16 theater in the city of Aurora, when a masked man dressed in black and wearing a bulletproof vest faced the packed crowd from the front of the theater. They say he set off canisters spewing an irritant and smoke and then started randomly shooting. Witnesses say he fatally shot an infant at point-blank range.
Police say they arrested the shooter a short time later in the parking lot outside the theater, and recovered an assault rifle, a shotgun, a handgun and a gas mask.
Booby-trapped apartment
Hours after the incident unfolded Friday in the darkened movie theater, police said they found the gunman’s apartment residence “booby-trapped” with explosives and chemical devices. They evacuated nearby residents.
Law enforcement officials identified the suspect as James Holmes, a 24-year-old American who was in the process of dropping out as a neuroscience graduate student at a nearby university. They said there was no indication the shooting was tied to any terrorist group.
Lone shooter
The movie theater attack was the worst mass shooting in the United States since 2009 when an Army psychiatrist killed 13 soldiers and civilians at a military base in Texas.
Aurora Chief of Police Daniel Oates told a news conference police are “confident” that only one man was involved, contrary to initial reports that there may have been an accomplice.
The police chief said the suspect told investigators he had multiple explosives at his residence in a North Aurora apartment building, and investigators later found the apartment booby-trapped with flammable and explosive materials. Residents at five nearby buildings were ordered out of their residences as authorities sought to disarm the dangerous site.
“The suspect who’s in custody, made statements about possible explosives in possession of his residence. At this time, there is a residence in North Aurora — its an apartment apartment building — that we have evacuated and we are dealing with as potentially there are explosives inside there,” Oates stated. “We’re also concerned about explosives in the parking lot, hence the parking lot is completely sealed off. We have all the area bomb squad teams.”
Eye witness account
Jaime Marshall, a theater patron, described a chaotic scene in the moments after the shooting, and said she saw a girl with a bullet wound in her leg.
“So we went up those stairs and we looked to the wall, to the side of the theatre where we heard the sounds from and there were bullet holes and so that’s when we started screaming for all our friends just to get out,” she recalled. “We went up the stairs and we were looking over the lobby and police were out there. There was one officer in a gas mask holding a huge rifle and they were just waving people, trying to get people through the lobby as fast as possible so we ran down the stairs, we ran out of the theatre. We walked out, I saw a girl with a bullet in her leg.”
Obama, Romney react
President Barack Obama, abandoning a planned re-election campaign rally in Florida, called on Americans to support the victims of the carnage. He said “such violence, such evil is senseless” and that the nation is “heartbroken.”
Obama said the mass shooting was inexplicable.
“We may never understand what leads anybody to terrorize their fellow human beings like this,” the president said.
Obama’s Republican presidential challenger, Mitt Romney, said he and his wife Ann were “deeply saddened” by the shooting, which he called “senseless violence.”
[VOA]
Pictured: A witness Twitter photo from the shooting scene at the Century 16 Theater in Aurora, Colorado. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Rain Possible Friday Night, Saturday
July 20, 2012
Showers and thunderstorms are likely for Friday night and Saturday. Some of those storms could produce small hail, gusty winds, heavy rain and frequent lightning.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: Showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 7pm. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds, heavy rain, and frequent lightning. Low around 73. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming southeast after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
- Saturday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds, heavy rain, and frequent lightning. Partly sunny, with a high near 89. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
- Saturday Night: Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1am. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds, heavy rain, and frequent lightning. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
- Sunday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 93. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
- Sunday Night: Isolated showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 72. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
- Monday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 93. Light and variable wind becoming southeast 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
- Monday Night: Isolated showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
- Tuesday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 94. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
- Tuesday Night: Isolated showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
- Wednesday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 95. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
- Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74.
- Thursday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 94. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
- Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74.
- Friday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 93.
ECUA Expanding Weekly Garbage Pickup Services
July 20, 2012
The Emerald Coast Utilities Authority is adding services to weekly garbage service beginning August 1
Big items that won’t fit the garbage can — things like furniture and appliances — will be picked up as part of the regular weekly service August 1 with no need to call-in. Until now, bulky waste pickups have been limited to once a month with customers required to call in advance.
Bulk waste items need to be placed at the curb by 5:30 a.m. on a customer’s regular pickup day.
ECUA will also significantly increase the amount of yard waste that can be put out for each week’s collection. After August 1, ECUA will accept two piles six feet wide, six feet deep and six feet high. In addition to the two piles of yard waste, ECUA will also accept up to 20 plastic trash bags or cans of vegetative matter such as leaves, pine straw, grass clippings and small prunings.
Yard waste items should be place at the curb by 5:30 a.m. on a customer’s regular trash day.
For more information, see the insert in your July ECUA bill, visit www.ecua.fl.gov, or call ECUA customer service at (850) 476-0480.
Cantonment Man Sentenced For Forged Checks At Walmart
July 20, 2012
A Cantonment man charged in April with passing forged checks at two Pensacola stores has been sentenced.
Jourdan Alexander Truitt, 21, pleaded no contest this week to felony grand theft, three felony counts of uttering forged instrument and one misdemeanor count of petit theft.
Adjudication was withheld. He was sentenced to 36 months probation and 100 hours of community service. He was also ordered to pay $1,185.99 in restitution to Pen Air Federal Credit Union. He was also ordered to seek a job with more than 35 hours per week.
Truitt allegedly wrote four checks totaling to two Pensacola Walmart stores. According to an arrest report, he was seen on Walmart survelliance video using the checks for purchases.
The victim in the case was listed as Pen Air Federal Credit Union because they reimbursed their account holder for the money lost from her account.
Beulah Clean Sweep: 38 Tons Of Debris, Two Arrests
July 20, 2012
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office along with the Windy Hill Neighborhood watch, partner agencies and volunteers worked to clean up in Beulah Thursday.
The Operation Clean Sweep removed 38 tons of debris. Two outstanding arrest warrants were served, and 23 citations were issued at traffic checkpoints. In addition, the ECSO Sex Crimes Unit made seven address verifications.
NJROTC Cadets Complete Basic Leadership Training
July 20, 2012
Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps cadets from across Escambia and Santa Rosa counties took part in a Basic Leadership Training camp last week that culminated with graduation exercise about Pensacola NAS.
Eight cadets from Northview High School took part in the Basic Leadership training camp — Lane Carnley, Sean Allister, Joshua Borelli, Elijah Harbinson, Jeniya Odom, Talia Syria, Andrea Miles and Deidre Steele.
For a photo gallery, click here.
The week-long camp included academics, drill, physical training and tours of Pensacola Naval Air Station facilities. Highlights of the week were running the Marine Corps obstacle course, observing Navy Fire Fighting training, aircrew survival swimming training and a tour of the Naval Air Technical Training Center.
Two two other Northview cadets, Jonathan Moretz (executive officer for the BLT company) and Zacarra Davis were graduate assistants during the week, helping the NJROTC instructors run the camp. Their responsibilities included assignment as platoon leaders, watchstanders, barracks staff and administrative duties. Their duties were essential to the success of the camp and ensured the cadets were properly trained during the camp and moved from one location to another throughout the week.
There were a total of 73 NJROTC cadets that participated and graduated from the camp from Northview, Pine Forest, Escambia, Washington, Milton, Pace and Navarre high schools. An additional 23 cadets were assigned as graduate assistants from the seven schools.
Pictured top: There were 73 NJROTC cadets from seven schools that graduated from a week of Basic Leadership Training at Pensacola NAS. Pictured inset: Northview’s Jonathan Moretz, standing by to receive the Cadet Achievement Award. Pictured below: Northview cadets (L-R) Talia Syria, Deidre Steele, Andrea Miles Elijah Harbinson, Lane Carnley, Jeniya Odom, Sean Allister, Zacarra Davis (graduate assistant) and Joshua Borelli. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Bratt Basketball Camp Next Week With Former NBA Coach
July 20, 2012
The First Baptist Church of Bratt will host a basketball camp next week
The camp for children ages 8-14 will be held July 23-27 from 9 a.m. until noon at the church. Coach Roger Dutremble of Global Sports Outreach will teach kids the fundamentals of basketball and Biblical awareness.
Dutremble is a a retired coach and member of the International Basketball Hall of Fame. He career includes coaching at every level from high school to the NBA, and into international arenas, with a lifetime coaching record of 687-117 and seven national championships. He was selected “Coach of the Year” six times, and served as national team head coach to Belgium, Scotland, and Jordan. He was an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers, serving under Paul Westhead and Pat Riley, from 1979-83 and helping the team to three NBA championships with players like Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
The cost $35 per student with scholarships available. For more information, contact Tim Hawsey at (850) 327-6529.
Escaped Alabama Prisoner Recaptured
July 20, 2012
A state prisoner with ties to South Alabama was recaptured Friday afternoon in north Alabama.
The Alabama Department of Corrections said inmate Rhonda Hopkins escaped from a job site near Midfield, Alabama, on Thursday afternoon.She was captured walking down a street in Midfield.
She was serving a five year sentence at the Birmingham Community Based Facility after being sentenced in Mobile County for theft and possession of controlled substance.