Vickrey Graduates From Military Working Dog Handler Course
July 11, 2014
Hunter Vickrey of Molino has graduated from the Military Working Dog Handler Course at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, TX. He will now report to his first duty station in Virginia at Fort Myer, which borders Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.
When Vickrey graduated earlier this year from basic training/military police AIT school at Fort Leonard Wood, MO, he was one of just two of 150 soldiers in the group selected to receive a K-9 and K-9 training.
Wahoos Take Home Opener Against Montgomery’s Biscuits, 4-2
July 11, 2014
Daniel Corcino put what the reigning WWE Tag Team Champion Uso Brothers would call “the kibosh” on the Montgomery Biscuits Thursday night.
In front of a sellout crowd and twin brothers Jimmy and Jey, who graduated from Escambia High School, Corcino clamped down on the Biscuits in the, 4-2, Pensacola victory in the series opener.
Corcino allowed just one run on a solo home run to Alejandro Segovia in the second inning and struck out seven to up his record to 8-7. It was Corcino’s ninth start this season that he has pitched six innings or more and allowed one run or fewer.
He said that meeting the dominating Uso Brothers, who threw out the game’s ceremonial first pitch, pumped him up before the game. Corcino said he has loved wrestling since he was a little boy watching it on TV in the Dominican Republic.
“I love that sport. It’s one of my favorites,” Corcino said. “I met them and they asked, ‘Who’s going to teach me to pitch?’ I said, ‘I’ll teach you, if you teach me how to wrestle in the ring.’”
Corcino came into his 18th start of the season having struggled in his past five games. He was 1-3 with 19 strikeouts and 18 walks in 23.1 innings for a 9.26 ERA.
Corcino, who is the Cincinnati Reds’ No. 10 prospect according to MLB.com, said he considered those outings ancient history. Plus, the 23-year-old is now unbeaten, 4-0, against the Biscuits, including 3-0, this season.
“If you have a bad game you just forget about it,” said Corcino, who walked only one batter. “I threw the ball at the plate and said, ‘Let’s see what happens?’ My last few starts I’ve been a little wild.”
The difference Thursday was command of his fastballs in the 90s and getting ahead in the count on the hitters, said Wahoos manager Delino DeShields.
“When he pitches like that we have a chance to win games,” DeShields said. “When you look at his side work and his pitching in the bullpen before the game, everything’s working. It’s just being able to do it at 6:30 p.m. It was a great job by him tonight.”
The second game of the five-game series with Tampa Bay Rays Double-A affiliate the Montgomery Biscuits gets underway at 6:30 p.m. Friday. RHP Jon Moscot (4-8, 3.19) takes the mound for the Wahoos and is scheduled to be opposed by the Biscuits RHP Albert Suarez (1-0, 1.50).
by Tommy Thrall
Pictured: The Pensacola Blue Wahoos beat the Montgomery Biscuits 4-2 at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium,Thursday. Photos by Michael Spooneybarger/ Pensacola Blue Wahoos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
‘Saving Heaven’ Event To Bring Awareness Of Missing Persons, Human Trafficking
July 11, 2014
The family of 25 year-old Tiffany Daniels, missing since August 12, 2013, is sponsoring an awareness event Saturday to profile the region’s missing persons and the plague of human trafficking.
With over 2200 persons reported missing every day in the United States and over 200,000 US children at-risk of human trafficking; awareness and education becomes our best weapon, according to the family. Florida currently ranks third in the country in reporting of human trafficking offenses and I-10 is widely recognized as the leading trafficking corridor in the country. These problems exist and do affect the local area, family member said.
Addison Yvonne Webb
July 11, 2014
Infant Addison Yvonne Webb, born July 6, 2014, died on July 9, 2014 in Pensacola, Florida.
Addison Yvonne Webb was a native and resident of Pensacola. Her grandfather, Jimmy Dunsford, grandmother, Yvonne Webb and uncle, Brett Webb preceded her in death.
Survivors include her father, Paul Webb of Pensacola; and mother Kimberly Dunsford of Walnut Hill; one brother, Tristen Webb of Pensacola; one sister, Makayla Webb of Pensacola; grandparents, Ronald and Barbara Hollingsworth of Walnut Hill, and Scott Dubose of Pensacola; great grandparents, Janie and James Singleton of Walnut Hill, Barbara and Dewayne Hollingsworth of Walnut Hill, Bruce and Velma Webb of Pensacola, and Norm and Gale Dubose of Pensacola; aunts, Kelly, Crystal, Rena, Nina, Jackie and Jessica; uncles, David, Brandon, Dallas, Ryan; and numerous cousins.
Funeral services will be Saturday, July 12, 2014, at 11:00 a.m. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home in Atmore with Rev. Andy Lolley officiating.
Burial will follow at the Walnut Hill Baptist Cemetery.
Visitation will be Saturday, July 12, 2014, from 10:00 a.m. until service time at 11:00 a.m. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home.
Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Homes, LLC in charge of all arrangements, Atmore, Alabama.
Barbara Erica Daniel
July 10, 2014
Barbara Erica Daniel, age 80, of Pensacola, passed away on Wednesday June 11, 2014, at her daughter’s house in Crawford, Tennessee. Mrs. Daniel was born March 11, 1934, in Liberty, New York to the late John Benjamin and Olive White Fricke. She was a homemaker, a loving wife, mother and grandmother, who will be greatly missed by all. She loved playing the piano and was a member of Beulah Baptist Church where she taught Sunday School and sang in the choir for many years. The angels in heaven now have a new member in their choir.
She is survived by four daughters and sons-in-law, Lisa Paulette and Dan Wise of Crawford, TN, Kathy Lynn and Donnie Touchstone, Suzanne and Mike Barnes and Jayme Carol and Robb Echols, all of Pensacola; six grandchildren, April Michelle Harrison, Chenoa Ann Barnes, Jessica Nicole Ray, Kati Elea Touchstone, Krista Noel Touchstone and Dylan Chase Echols; six great-grandchildren, Kaelyn Harrison, Cheyenne Paul, Malachi, Giaovanna, Josiah and Isaiah Ray; three sisters and brothers-in-law, Carol and Lee Bogan of Gulf Breeze, Patricia and Alvin Harris of Jay and Mary and Patrick Sweeney of Pensacola; one brother and sister-in-law, John and Linda Fricke of Pensacola; lifelong friends and neighbors, Edgar and Bonnie Klienschmidt Of Pensacola; and PeeWee the cat.
In addition to her parents she was preceeded in death on February 16, 2014, by her husband of 61 years, Wallace Daniel, whom she is now with again.
Special thanks to nurse and good friend Novi Tolley, Teena, Liz, Brittney and all the Avalon Hospice Staff and Dr. Dawn Barlow and nurse Kim.
Mrs. Daniel’s wishes of cremation have been followed. A memorial service will be held on Sunday, July 13, 2014, at Faith Chapel Funeal Home North at 2 p.m.
Memorial donations may be made to Avalon Hospice, Parkinson’s Disease Foundation or the charity of your choice.
Cantonment Veterinarian Arrested After DEA Investigation
July 10, 2014
A Cantonment veterinarian has been arrested on drug charges following an investigation by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and the DEA.
Michael Bishop Windley, age 67 of Highway 196 Molino, was arrested on state drug charges of four counts of possession, delivery, and manufacture of a controlled substance and four counts of fraud in obtaining prescriptions. Windley is a veterinarian at the Companion Animal Clinic at 470 South Highway 29 (the former Winn Dixie shopping center), according to Special Agent in Charge Mark. R Trouville of the DEA’s Miami Field Division.
According to the arrest warrant, the DEA received a call in August 2013 from a Winn Dixie pharmacist regarding the suspicious prescribing activities of Windley. During the investigation, DEA learned that Windley was fraudulently obtaining methadone by writing prescriptions in the name of his ex-wife’s dog and filling the prescriptions at various pharmacies in the Cantonment and Pensacola areas and then providing the drugs to his ex-daughter in law.
According to the DEA, Windley filled 30 prescriptions (for a total of 5,400 tablets) for methadone between December 11, 2012 and February 7, 2014. Two of the prescriptions for methadone were filled at two different pharmacies on the same date.
According to the DEA, Windley presented multiple controlled substance prescriptions for 180 methadone tablets each for a dog named Banner under the owner’s name Barbara Ard of the 4600 block of Highway 196 in Molino. Ard, according to the DEA, is Windley’s ex-wife.
During a DEA inspection of the Companion Animal Clinic, Windley first told an investigator that he had researched several medical journals and attended a conference where methadone was used as a pain medication with no side effects in animals. Windley, according to an arrest affidavit, also said he had six dogs, five of which were deceased, that were prescribed methadone. He was unable to produce the medical files of the dogs, telling investigators that the files had been destroyed. The veterinarian then said he wrote the prescriptions for all the dogs under one dog’s name, filled them at area pharmacies and then dispensed it out to the animals’ owners — a wrongful practice, according to the DEA.
Later, Windley voluntarily surrendered his DEA license, the report states, and admitted the pills were for his daughter in law.
The daughter-in-law, a Gulf Breeze resident, told investigators that she would clean Windley’s home and take care of his pets. He would leave a bottle of methadone on a table at his home. She told investigators that she was taking up to 20 methadone pills per day, and investigators witnessed her make a call to her primary physicians to make an appointment to receive help.
Windley was released from the Escambia County Jail on $50,000 bond.
Showers, Thunderstorms Likely Today
July 10, 2014
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Thursday Showers and thunderstorms likely. Cloudy, with a high near 92. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
- Thursday Night A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Friday A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 94. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph.
- Friday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 71. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph.
- Saturday A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 96. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph.
- Saturday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 72. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
- Sunday A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 95. South wind around 5 mph.
- Sunday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 73. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Monday A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 94.
- Monday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 73.
- Tuesday A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 93.
- Tuesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 73.
- Wednesday A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 93.
Tax Collector Offices Collecting Food Drive Donations For Manna
July 10, 2014
A food drive is currently underway at Escambia County Tax Collector offices, including Molino, downtown and Marcus Pointe.
The employees of Janet Holley, Escambia County Tax Collector, are supporting Manna Food Pantries by sponsoring a food drive to help them restock their pantry from the April flood. Their goal is to collect 2,000 pounds of food to help Manna meet the needs of the hungry in our area.
Nonperishable food items can be dropped off at any of the three convenient tax collector locations Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. through August 6. Manna Food Pantries welcomes any food donations, but their most needed items are peanut butter, canned fruit, canned tuna and chicken, and canned dinners.
Escambia Count Tax Collector offices are located at:
- Molino – 6440 Hwy. 95-A North, Ste. A
- Marcus Pointe – 6451 North “W” Street
- Downtown – 213 Palafox Place
Credit Cards Stolen During Flomaton Funeral Used In Molino, Cantonment
July 10, 2014
Authorities are asking for the public’s help in identifying a man that stole credit and debit cards during a Flomaton funeral and then used the cards in Molino and Cantonment.
According to the Flomaton Police Department, the suspect burglarized an automobile sometime between 3:00 and 3:20 p.m. last Sunday during a funeral at the Little Escambia Baptist Church on Highway 113. The suspect took a purse out of the vehicle before fleeing into Florida.
The suspect then attempted to use the victim’s credit and debit cards in Flomaton, and at businesses along Highway 29 in Molino and Cantonment. Flomaton Police Chief Bryan Davis declined to identify the businesses, citing an ongoing investigation.
Flomaton Police have obtained surveillance footage of the suspect entering two different businesses. He was described as a black male about six feet tall, wearing khaki pants, an untucked red polo-style shirt, black sunglasses, a gold colored watch on his left wrist and a red hat with the letter “P” on it, possibly a Philadelphia Phillies baseball hat. No description of his vehicle is available.
Anyone with information on the crimes is asked to call the Flomaton Police Department at (251) 296-5811.
Rick Scott Has Enacted Single Term High Of 12 Pro-Gun Laws
July 10, 2014
Gov. Rick Scott appears nearly bulletproof right now in the eyes of the National Rifle Association.
That assessment of Scott comes as the NRA notes that more pro-gun bills have been signed into law in the past four years than during any other recent single gubernatorial term. The organization sent a message to members applauding Scott for setting the record.
Since taking office in 2011, Scott has signed into law 12 gun-related measures backed by the NRA. That total is nine more than former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist approved while enjoying an equally Republican-dominated Legislature between 2007 and 2010. Crist is now running for the Democratic nomination to face Scott in the November elections.
The total number of Scott’s signings remains two fewer than those inked by former Gov. Jeb Bush, who also affixed his name to a one-year record six pro-gun and pro-hunting bills in 2006. A year earlier, Bush had signed the “stand your ground” law. However, Bush’s overall total of 14 new pro-guns laws came during eight years as the occupant of the Governor’s Mansion.
“Governor Scott supports the Second Amendment, and works every day to ensure Florida families are kept safe,” spokesman John Tupps said in an email. “Florida is at a 43-year crime low, and Governor Scott will review any legislation that the Legislature passes and sends to his desk.”
The bills signed by Scott have ranged from the highly contentious, such as the “docs vs. glocks” law in 2011 that has been on hold since being thrown out by a federal judge in 2012, to less controversial laws that reduced the fees for a new concealed carry weapon and allowed tax collectors’ offices handle concealed-weapon license applications.
“The bills that Gov. Scott has signed will make and have made an enormous difference,” said Marion Hammer, the powerful lobbyist for the NRA and Unified Sportsmen of Florida. “These laws will have major impact on law abiding gun owners.”
She wasn’t as praiseworthy of the more politically flexible Crist, who left office with an “A” rating by the NRA and campaigned in 2010 for the U.S. Senate claiming to have “never wavered in his support for the Second Amendment.”
Crist earned the “profound appreciation” of the NRA in May 2009 for vetoing the Legislature’s plan to sweep $6 million from the Concealed Weapons and Firearms Licensing Trust Fund to patch a hole in the state budget. Crist also won praise when signing legislation to allow concealed weapons permit-holders to keep their guns in their vehicles while at work, and by appointing NRA-supported judges Charles Canady and Ricky Polston to the state Supreme Court.
But Hammer alluded to Crist being less than supportive as “critically important bills” were discussed outside of committee meetings while he was still governor.
“When you’re trying to pass legislation, sometimes legislators will ask (the governor) what they’ll do, and if they’re non-committal, that’s always like a negative,” Hammer said when asked about Crist.
A spokesman for Crist said Wednesday that the former governor maintains his belief in the Second Amendment, but favors “sensible gun safety steps” to keep communities and children safe.
“For example, he believes we should get military-style assault weapons and high-capacity clips off the streets and institute tougher background checks to keep dangerous weapons out of the wrong hands,” Kevin Cate, a spokesman for Crist, responded in an email.
The increase in gun-friendly bills becoming law comes as more Floridians are registered gun owners.
As of May 31, there were 1.27 million concealed-weapon or firearm licenses issued in Florida, according to the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The state went over the 1 million mark in Dec. 2012, becoming the first state in the nation to surpass that figure.
And the Florida Department of Law Enforcement conducted 869,457 background checks on firearm purchases in 2013. The annual number of checks grew from 406,370 in 2007, when Crist took office, to 606,655 in 2011, Scott’s first year in office. Each check includes an examination of an applicant’s criminal history and mental-health database reviews.
Coconut Creek Democrat Rep. Jim Waldman, a gun owner who has not received glowing scores from the NRA, said the proliferation of pro-gun bills is more about catering to the Republican Party’s “ultra-right” base than sound policy.
“The only way a lot of Republicans get elected is, they need to beef up their bona fides, and one way to do that is to support gun legislation,” Waldman said.
Scott signed five gun-rights bills into law this year, after signing three each in 2011 and 2012. He signed one in 2013.
This year’s offerings would prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage or increasing rates based on customers owning guns or ammunition. Also, they would allow people to threaten to use force, including showing guns, in self defense. Another new law would prevent schoolchildren from being disciplined for simulating guns while playing or for wearing clothes that depict firearms.
“There were not a lot of contentious bills, they were not all that controversial, there were just some contentious people,” Hammer said.
Besides the opposition to “docs and glocks,” most of the gun related controversy in recent sessions has been through failed efforts by advocates seeking to repeal the 2005 “stand your ground” law, which says people can use deadly force and do not have a duty to retreat if they think it is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm
The so-called “warning shot” law approved this year modified “stand your ground” by extending immunity to those who threaten to use force in self-defense.
In addition to “docs vs. glocks,” a law that restricts how doctors can talk to patients about guns, the 2011 laws signed by Scott included another one that continues to be challenged by cities and counties. That bill established $5,000 fines for county and city officials who enforce local firearms restrictions and empowered the governor to remove local officials from office if they continued to defy the state law.
In June, a judge sided with Palm Beach County against the provision that the governor could remove a county official from office for trying to enforce local gun control rules.
Not all of the gun laws have received universal praise from gun-rights advocates.
An NRA-backed measure Scott signed in 2013, crafted in the wake of 20 children and six adults being gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., was narrowly-focused on making it harder for the mentally ill to buy guns.
However, the issue put Scott in the crosshairs of two out-of-state groups.
The Colorado-based National Association for Gun Rights and the Virginia-based Gun Owners of America argued that the law — which blocks firearms purchases by some people who voluntarily admit themselves for mental-health treatment — would discourage people with mental illnesses from seeking treatment.
In a letter accompanying the bill signing, Scott noted that the measure was the product of mental-health and gun-rights advocates; he also highlighted his history of support for gun rights.
“During the 2012 GOP Convention, I was asked to issue a temporary executive order to override laws that allow people to carry concealed weapons, which I denied because it was unclear how disarming law-abiding citizens would better protect them from the damages and threats posed by those who would flout the law,” Scott wrote. “Additionally, I’ve signed legislation protecting the privacy of firearm owners and stopping local governments from overreaching in the regulation of firearms.”
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida