Florida Virtual School Cuts Staff
August 9, 2013
Pointing to a change in the state’s education-financing formula, Florida Virtual School eliminated 177 full-time positions.
Florida Virtual School is the state’s online public school, and the legislative change led to traditional school systems receiving fewer dollars than last year for students who enroll in online courses.
House education appropriations Chairman Erik Fresen, R-Miami, said the change was needed because Florida Virtual School was receiving a disproportionately large share of money.
Andrew Noel DeLuca, III
August 9, 2013
Mr. Andrew Noel DeLuca, III, age 49, of Flomaton, passed away suddenly on Friday, August 3, 2013, at Baptist Hospital in Pensacola.
Mr. DeLuca was a native of Long Branch, NJ, and had been a resident of Flomaton since 1984 coming from Comanche, OK. He was employed at Jim Peach Ford as a painter and was of the Baptist faith.
He is survived by his mother, Mrs. Lois L. DeLuca of Flomaton; his wife, Mrs. Tina Gayle DeLuca of Irvington, AL; step-daughter, Tonya Nicole Ashburn of Brewton; sisters, Tina Marie Freeman of Century, Andrea Lee Koonce of Mirando City, TX, Anita Louise DeLuca of Flomaton, and LeaAnn Wolcot of Walters, OK; and several nieces and nephews.
Flomaton Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
$1 Million Powerball Ticket Sold In Escambia County
August 9, 2013
Four players in Florida won $1 million each in Wednesday night’s Powerball drawing. One of those tickets was sold in Escambia County at the Circle K at 4500 East Olive Road.
The $1 million ticket was claimed Thursday afternoon by Melissa Wienmann of Pensacola.
According to Weinmann, her husband is stationed at NAS Pensacola and is a Staff Sergeant in the Marines. They had been experiencing financial struggles due to her recent furlough. However, they are now looking forward to taking their grandson to Disney World in Orlando for his fifth birthday. Weinmann also stated that she intends to pay off their debt and set up a college fund for their grandson.
The winning numbers from the Powerball draw were 05-25-30-58-59, and the Powerball was 32. Each of the four retailers received a $1,000 bonus commission for selling a $1 million Powerball ticket, and more than $32 million was transferred to the state’s Educational Enhancement Trust Fund from this series of rollovers.
There were three winning tickets sharing the $448 million prize. Two of the winning tickets were sold in New Jersey and the third was sold in Minnesota.
Six-Run Second Earns Wahoos 6-4 Win Over Suns
August 9, 2013
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos scored all six of their runs in the second inning and went on to knock off the Jacksonville Suns 6-4 on Thursday night at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium. With the win, Pensacola clawed to within three games of the first place Suns with 25 games to go.
Pensacola strung together seven hits in the second-inning rally, all coming off Jacksonville starter Adam Conley. Ryan LaMarre started the scoring with an RBI single to make it 1-0. Three batters later, with the bases loaded and two outs, Devin Lohman reached on an RBI infield single, setting up Mike Costanzo. The Wahoos first baseman provided the big blow of the frame with a bases-clearing, three-run double to make it 5-0. Costanzo came around to score on a RBI single from Yorman Rodriguez, completing the outburst.
Jacksonville came right back, though, with four runs of its own in the top of the third against Daniel Renken. Chris Gutierrez singled in a run before Zack Cox blasted a three-run homer to right field, cutting the Wahoos lead to 6-4.
Renken settled down to toss six innings for Pensacola, allowing four runs on seven hits with four strikeouts to improve to 6-8 on the season. Jamie Walczak fired two scoreless innings to bridge the gap to Trevor Bell who set down the Suns in the ninth to pick up his 13th save of the year in as many tries.
Conley, tied for the Southern League lead in wins entering the night, took the loss for Jacksonville to fall to 11-5. The southpaw lasted five-plus frames and gave up six runs on 11 base knocks with five strikeouts.
Pensacola will now look for the series win having already won the first two games of the series. Tim Crabbe (5-8, 3.43) gets the ball for the Wahoos while the Suns will counter with Bryan Evans (4-3, 3.88). First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.
by Kevin Burke
Mary “Graham” Mitchell
August 9, 2013
Mrs. Mary “Graham” Mitchell, 93, passed away on Wednesday, August 7, 2013 in Atmore.
Mrs. Mitchell was a native of Wardville, FL and has resided in Walnut Hill for most of her life. She attended the New Life Fellowship Church. Her husband, John Mitchell; two sons, Jimmy Lamar Mitchell and James Allen “Chuck” Mitchell; and one daughter, Pat Emmons, precede her in death.
She is survived by her three sons, John C. (Marie) Mitchell of Atmore, Jack (Hazel) Mitchell of Walnut Hill and Joe (Sue) Mitchell of Germany; two daughters, Helen Bell of Flomaton and Linda (Lee) Johnson of Brinson, GA; one brother, Otis Graham of Pensacola; one sister, Luverne Graham of Walnut Hill; 12 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren.
Graveside services will be Saturday, August 10, 2013, at 10:30 a.m. at the Walnut Hill Baptist Cemetery with Rev. Joe Gipson officiating.
Visitation will be held Saturday, August 10, 2013, from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Petty- Eastside Chapel Funeral Home.
Pallbearers will be Ryan Johnson, Kevin Johnson, Riley Mitchell, Malcolm Mitchell, Freddie Emmons and Steven Alderman.
Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Homes, LLC is in charge of all arrangements.
Morning Y’all: Marty White Marks 40 Years On The Radio
August 8, 2013
“Morning y’all!”
Marty White has been waking up Pensacola area residents on “Your Hometown Morning Show” on 102.7 WXBM for over 20 years now…a phenomenally long time in the world of today’s radio business, big corporations and a tendency to change morning hosts on a whim. And this month, he’s marking another major milestone — 40 years behind a microphone, over 30 of those on the radio in Pensacola.
“Somebody that I knew, knew somebody with a radio station. I went in, read a few PSA’s (public service announcements), and the next thing I know, I was on the air making $1.65 an hour,” Marty said Wednesday morning from behind the mic in the control room of WXBM.
“Boy radio has come a long way since then. We used to have a couple of turntables on one side for the records and carts (large, 8-track like cassettes) for the commercials,” he said.
“Then we got all this,” he said, pointing to a computer system that lines up songs and commercials that automatically play with the click of the mouse. “I told ‘em I was never going to learn this computer stuff, or it was going to take me two years to figure out how to do anything.”
But he’s adapted. And that’s a big part of the reason he’s still around in the every-changing world of corporate radio.
WXBM”s studios are no longer out in the country “at the end of the road” in Chumuckla. Now, the WXBM studio is tucked away at “the end of the hallway” in an office park building off W Street in Pensacola. Just down the hallway are the studios for WXBM’s “sister” stations — WCOA 1370 AM, News Talk 100.7 FM, Magic 106.1, and Today’s Soft Rock 94.1 — all owned by media giant Cumulus.
Despite all the changes, Marty is still a self-described country boy who “barely graduated from Tate High School” that went from high school in Cantonment to the U.S. Air Force as a spy before his first radio gig.
“Man, she makes the best potato salad around,” Marty remarked on the air about the wife of a man celebrating a birthday. It’s those little down home touches that make Marty part of the family each morning in thousands of area homes.
In his spare time, you’ll often find him on the golf course, hunting somewhere in the North Escambia woods or out on a buddy’s boat.
The country artists on the air have changed a lot over 20 years at WXBM, but for Marty his favorites are still George….George Strait or George Jones. His all time favorites are “The Chair” by George Strait, “Bed of Roses” by George Jones, “That Was Us” byRandy Travis, and one almost guaranteed not to be on a teenager’s iPod — “16 Little Red Roses and a Horse That Sweats” by Jim Stafford.
Getting up early for a 6 a.m. start on the radio is just a way of life for Marty White. His show is not powered by coffee. There’s usually just a little water in his “sippy cup”, or just a little extra power from a Mountain Dew.
“I guess I’ll always be here behind a mic,” Marty said Wednesday morning. “Unless I win that Powerball tonight. Got $4 in that thing. Then this chair going to be empty in the morning.”
Pictured top and bottom: Longtime radio host Marty White on 102.7 WXBM Wednesday morning. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge. Pictured inset: Marty White records a commercial in August of 1985.
Man Allegedly Beats Brother With Bat, Threatens To Kill Him
August 8, 2013
A Jay man is behind bars for allegedly beating his brother with a bat and leaving him lying in a driveway along a rural road outside Century.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office found the victim beaten and lying in the middle of a driveway in the 2900 block of Highway 4A just east of Killam Road The victim told deputies that his brother, 53-year old Steven Douglas Andrews, struck him repeatedly with a baseball bat and said he would break his knees and kill him.
The victim told deputies that he is homosexual and Andrews does not like him for that reason, according to a Sheriff’s Office report.
The mother of the brothers told deputies Andrews had also placed a phone call to her saying that he was going to beat the victim with a baseball bat, teach him a lesson and kill him. The mother said she tried to stop Andrews from visiting, but heard him pull into the driveway and the altercation start.
The victim was transported to Baptist Hospital by Escambia County EMS for treatment of his injuries.
Andrews fled the scene before deputies arrived but was later taken into custody by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office at an address on Highway 4 in Jay.
Andrews was charged with second degree felony aggravated battery on a person using a deadly weapon. He remained in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $50,000.
Rain Possible Tonight, Friday
August 8, 2013
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 7pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
- Friday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 91. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
- Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Saturday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 92. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the morning.
- Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 71. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
- Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 95. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.
- Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
- Monday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 94. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the morning.
- Monday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
- Tuesday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 92.
- Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73.
- Wednesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 93.
- Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72.
- Thursday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 90.
Tate Grad Killed In Tampa Hit And Run Wreck
August 8, 2013
A Tate High School graduate now living in Tampa was struck and killed by a hit and run driver on Tuesday.
Michael Duriel Lee, 29, was riding his bicycle in a marked bike lane on the US 94 overpass over I-4 about 7:50 a.m. He was struck by a 1999 Ford Ranger that fled the scene. Lee was ejected from his bike and thrown from the overpass, landing in a retention pond 80 feet below the roadway.
Wednesday, authorities arrested 23-year-old Christopher Jacob Kimmel and charged him with leaving the scene of a crash involving death.
Lee was a 2001 graduate of Tate High School in Cantonment and still has family in the area. He was believed to be riding his bicycle to work at Central Power Systems, Inc. in Tampa.
Pictured top: This still image from a traffic camera shows the scene where at Tate HighSchool graduate’s bicycle was struck and thrown from an overpass in Tampa. Image courtesy FDOT for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge. Pictured inset: The truck that allegedly hit Lee. Pictured below: A paint chip from the truck recovered at the scene of the traffic crash. Photos courtesy Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office for NorthEcambia.com, click to enlarge.
Man That Claimed To Be Beaten By Deputies Is Arrested
August 8, 2013
A man that claimed he was beaten by Escambia County deputies is now behind bars following a July 27 fight.
Devon Walker, 27, was charged with two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of battery in connection with the fight at a trailer in the 3800 block of Creighton Road. He was booked into the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $11,000.
According to witnesses, several individuals became involved in a dispute over a cell phone and at some point during the altercation Walker pulled a firearm on the homeowner. When deputies arrived,they discovered three individuals lying on the floor inside of the trailer. All three individuals were intoxicated and had blood on them, the Sheriff’s Office said.
“Walker has falsely claimed that his injuries were caused by members of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office; however, these allegations have been determined false as evidenced by multiple written witness statements,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a written press release Wednesday afternoon.
“I definitely got beat up,” Devon Walker told the Pensacola Independent News. “The police beat me up.”
“The officer grabbed one of my arms and threw me to the ground,” Walker told the IN. “And then another one stepped on my face.”