Pensacola Rallies For 11th Inning Win Over Huntsville
June 22, 2014
Not only do the Pensacola Blue Wahoos boast three newly bald headed players who shaved their heads in front of the dugout before the game to raise money for children with cancer, they might have started a new hairstyle trend.
The bald Wahoos were instrumental in Pensacola’s rally, with bald Brodie Greene starting a ninth inning rally that tied the game, 3-3, and the bald Travis Mattair slamming a walkoff, ground rule double on one-hop over the centerfield fence to give the team a, 4-3, victory over the Huntsville Stars in the 11th inning. The win tied the series 2-2.
Mattair was mobbed at second base by his teammates as Jesse Winker crossed the plate with the winning run.
Mattair had helped push for the Blue Wahoos to support 4-year-old Carolyn Hendrix who had a rare cancer. She was declared cancer free at the end of May. And Sunday, Mattair, Greene and Josh Fellhauer, along with season ticket holder JRoAnne Bergman shaved their head in front of fans and the Hendrix family to raise money for the St. Baldrick’s organization.
“This is a great cause and the Hendrix family is just awesome,” said Mattair, who got to meet and hug Carolyn in the dugout before the game. “She has been through a lot and she put life in perspective for me.”
In the past five games, Mattair had only two hits in 16 at bats. The previous game he struck out three times in four plate appearances.
“It was a great feeling to get a game winner like that,” said Mattair, who signed about 50 autographs after the game. “I just have to keep putting my work in. I’ve been in this situation before and crawled out of it and I’ll do it again.”
Pensacola manager Delino DeShields said it made him happy to see Mattair come through with the RBI double to win the game.
“We need his offense,” DeShields said. “Hopefully, he can keep it going.”
Pensacola was down two runs heading into their last at bat in the ninth inning, when Greene started the rally with a leadoff walk. The Wahoos managed to load the bases with one out when Mattair took a fastball in the back from Huntsville reliever Tanner Poppe. That scored Greene and pulled Pensacola within one run, 3-2.
Then the Blue Wahoos tied it, 3-3, on a high inside pitch to Ryan Wright that got past Huntsville catcher Joey Paciorek and allowed Jesse Winker to score from third.
Pensacola starting pitcher Robert Stephenson entered the game having given up 12 runs, 10 earned in his previous three starts. But Stephenson held Huntsville to three runs over seven innings with two of those coming on solo home run blasts by Joey Paciorek and Greg Hopkins in the second inning. Stephenson, who was the 27th pick in the first round in 2011, struck out seven and now has 80 on the year in 77 innings.
As far as more Blue Wahoos show up bald?
DeShields who has no hair said after the game: “We may have to talk about that.”
Mattair also weighed in on sporting a bald head for the first time as an adult. “I was a lot cooler out there. I enjoyed it and I will recommend it to people.”
by Tommy Thrall
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos beat the Huntsville Stars 4-3 Sunday in Pensacola. Photos by Michael Spooneybarger, Pensacola Blue Wahoos, for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
No Serious Injuries In Highway 29 Crash
June 22, 2014
One person was injured in a single vehicle crash Saturday night north of McDavid.
The male driver of a Chevrolet Tahoe apparently lost control and ran off Highway 29 near Sigler Road. His Tahoe traveled across a concrete ditch, hit a tree and overturned into the ditch. The vehicle came to rest on its roof. The driver was transported by Escambia County EMS to a Pensacola area hospital with injuries were that were not considered life threatening.
The name of the driver has not yet been released. The accident remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. The McDavid Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the crash.
Showers, Thunderstorms Possible
June 22, 2014
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Sunday Night A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
- Monday Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after noon. Partly sunny, with a high near 92. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
- Monday Night A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight.
- Tuesday A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 92. Light southwest wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
- Tuesday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Wednesday A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 92. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Wednesday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight.
- Thursday A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 93.
- Thursday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 70.
- Friday A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 91.
- Friday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 70.
- Saturday A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 91.
Barrineau Park 4-H Members Provide Treats To Cantonment, Molino Firefighters
June 22, 2014
This year, the Barrineau Park 4-H Club is celebrating 100 years at the oldest continuous 4-H Club in Florida. To celebrate, club members are doing 100 hours of community service.
As part of that project, they recently visited the Molino and Cantonment fire stations and delivered cookies, cupcakes and “thank you” letters to the firefighters.
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Learn How To Do Business With ECUA At Workshop
June 22, 2014
On Friday, June 27, the Florida Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) will offer a free workshop entitled “How to do Business with the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority”.
The event, held on a quarterly basis since 2010, will be at the Escambia County Central Office Complex, 3363 West Park Place in Pensacola from 9-11 a.m.
The meeting will provide attendees with information on the potential of doing business with the ECUA, which the utility sees will beneficially increase bidding participation in future ECUA contracts. Topics covered will include the ECUA bidding process, qualification requirements, future business opportunities, and how the ECUA hiring process is conducted.
ECUA speakers will include; Bill Johnson, director of engineering, Peter Wilkinson, purchasing and store manager, and Frances Webb, HR generalist.
The workshop is free; however, pre-registration is recommended. For additional information contact Laura Subel, PTAC procurement specialist, at lsubel@uwf.edu, by calling (850) 474-2549 or, register on-line at www.clientsfloridasbdc.org/center.
Posse Earns Tourney Wins
June 22, 2014
Over recent weeks, the Pensacola Posse team won a tournament at Donalsonville, GA, were champions at a Gulfport, MS tournament, and placed second in a Daphne, AL, tournament. Members of the team include Meagan Jones, Mallory Miller, Kristen Quina, Morgan Bolan and Hadley Staratt from Tate High School; Bryce Miller, Ashley Kummer, Samantha Kummer, Kallie Okahashi and Tristan Pearson from Pace High School; and Savanna Ullrich from Escambia High School. Coaches are John Quina, Randy Miller, Peter Kummer and Sean Staratt. Reader submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Weekend Gardening: Time To Prune Gardenias And Hydrangeas
June 22, 2014
By Santa Rosa County Extension
Hydrangeas and gardenias are two of our most beloved shrubs in the South. They are revered for their flowers and are planted in large drifts throughout Northwest Florida.
Gardenia shrubs are evergreen and produce shiny, dark green leaves. They are known for their waxy, creamy white flowers. The flower’s aroma, adored by many gardeners, is powerful and pleasant.
Hydrangeas are deciduous shrubs and produce coarse, light green leaves. Their large leaves will fall off after a freeze. Although you are left with bare sticks during the winter, the summer blooms are well worth the winter bareness. While there are many different types of hydrangeas, the mopheads are probably the most recognizable. Their large inflorescences are usually blue on acid soil, pink on alkaline soil and a dirty white on neutral pH soil.
Even though these shrubs are different in many aspects, the one thing they have in common is when they “set” their flower buds. Both shrubs develop flower buds on old (mature) wood of the previous year and open in early summer of the following year. Flower buds are formed at the terminal end of stems and, if not killed by cold or removed by inappropriate pruning, provide the showy floral display the next year.
The best time to prune gardenias and hydrangeas is after they finish flowering for the season. Pruning them at the incorrect time of the year, such as winter, will remove the flower buds.
Your pruning program should be purposeful. First, remove all diseased, weak and dead wood. It will be important to disinfect your pruning equipment after removing suspect branches. Pruning shears, loppers and saws can be dipped in a weak bleach solution to prevent spread of disease between plants.
Once all the problem branches have been removed, then think about thinning the plant. Shrubs are often thinned to reduce a top-heavy appearance or to open up a dense canopy. To thin, simply remove some of the oldest branches by pruning them down to the ground. Remove about a quarter to a third of the branches, selecting the oldest ones for elimination. When thinning, take care not to damage the nearby younger stems and foliage.
Next, cut back branches that are excessively long. Prune back to a lateral branch that is six to twelve inches below the desirable plant height, removing no more than a third of the stem. Cut each branch separately to different lengths with hand pruners. This will maintain a neat informal shrub with a natural shape. Plants sheared into various geometric shapes produce a formality not suitable for many modern, natural landscapes. Making pruning cuts down inside the canopy instead of on the outside edge will also hide unsightly pruning cuts.
Within the last several years, reflowering hydrangeas have found their way into the marketplace. Reflowering hydrangeas produce an initial flush of flowers followed by sporadic flowering or later flushes of flowers in the same growing season.
Endless Summer Hydrangea is a reflowering hydrangea. It is very forgiving and will not suffer if left unpruned or pruned at the wrong time. In fact, young, recently planted shrubs are best left alone. Unlike other hydrangeas, your Endless Summer® will bloom on both old and new wood, branches that grew last year and the new branches from this year. Another unique feature is that this hydrangea will continue to set buds and bloom throughout the season. Deadheading, or removing the spent flowers will encourage continual blooming.
Timothy Duane Gabbard
June 22, 2014
Timothy Duane Gabbard, age 48 of Milton, passed away unexpectedly June 19, 2014, in Calvert, Ala. He served in the United States Army, attended True Worship Assembly of God Church, and was employed at ThyssenKrupp Steel USA in Mobile. He was a loving father, son, and brother that will be dearly missed.
Tim is preceded in death by his grandfather, Nelson Allen; and father, Pearl Gabbard.
He is survived by his twin sons, Ryan (Jessica) Gabbard and Bryan (Aleshia) Gabbard; wife of 26 years, Renee Gabbard; mother, Edith Gabbard; grandmother, Mafrie Allen; sisters, Linda Boatright, Regina (Gerald) King, and Tammy (Thomas) Pritchard; brothers, Donnie (Lynn) Gabbard, Randy (Karen) Gabbard, and Rick (Kim) Hickey.
Funeral services will be held Tuesday, June 24, 2014, 11 a.m. at Jay Funeral Home, with Reverend Adam Peterson and Reverend Bradley Odom, officiating. A visitation will be held from 10 to 11 a.m.
Graveside services will be held 2 p.m. at Eastern Gate Cemetery in Pensacola with military honors.
Active pallbearers will be Bryan Gabbard, Ryan Gabbard, Donnie Gabbard, Brandon Hoyt, Gerald King, and Johnny Watson.
Honorary pallbearers will be Thomas Pritchard and Lee Pritchard.
Jay Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Esther McKinley O’Farrell
June 22, 2014
Esther McKinley O’Farrell, 82, of Walnut Hill, a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, friend, and devoted Christian, passed peacefully in her home on June 19, 2014. She was a native of Canoe but resided in Atmore the majority of her life where she worked with Southland Telephone Company as an operator and retired after 36 years. She was a longtime, faithful member of Oak Grove Church of Christ in Oak Grove. She loved her church family and enjoyed living by example and doing for others. She loved her family unconditionally and enjoyed spending time and making memories at the beach with her family.
Esther is preceded in death by her mother, Lyna Meadows McKinley; brothers, Almos, Joe, Edgar, and Gene McKinley; and sisters, Estelle Petter and Lillie Greenwood.
She is survived by her husband of 63 years, Henry Eugene O’Farrell; sister, Earline Barton, of Bay Minette; children, Cynthia O. Freeman of Walnut Hill, Barbara O. Powell (Billy) of LaPlace, LA, and Kenneth G. O’Farrell (Dana) of Orange Beach; four granddaughters, Kimberly O. Myers, Stephanie Rauch, Melanie Powell St. John and Vickie Gage; one grandson, Nicholas O’Farrell; and four great-grandsons, all who loved ” Granny 0” dearly.
Funeral services were held Saturday, June 21, 2014, at the Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home Chapel with Pastor Billy Randolph and Pastor Brad Sullivan officiating.
Interment was in Godwin Cemetery in Bratt.
Special thank you to Dr. Mitchell, Covenant Hospice, her Church family, and the many lifelong friends for their calls, visits, love and support.
Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Dorothy L. Brown
June 22, 2014
Mrs. Dorothy L. Brown, 73, passed away on Wednesday, June 18, 2014, in Pensacola.
Mrs. Brown was a native and lifelong resident of McDavid. Mrs. Brown was over the resident council at the Century Care Center and attended the Flomaton Kingdom Hall of Jehovah Witnesses.
Her husband, William Harvey Brown; parents, John Thomas Williams-Mills and Flora Littles; and sister, Ruth Sessions precede her in death.
She is survived by her two sons, Marty (Rose) Brown of Century and Billy (Shirley) Brown of North Carolina; one daughter, Connie Booker of Baker; two sisters, Bertha Johnson of Fort Walton and Shirley Sailor of North Carolina; nine grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were held Saturday, June 21, 2014, at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home with Elder Richard Ash officiating.
Burial was at the Little Flock Cemetery.
Pallbearers will be Charlie Brown, Rodney Burkett, Robert Wilson, Zaire Dennis, Ethan Wright and Mark Salter.
Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Homes is in charge of all arrangements.