FHSAA Creates New Baseball, Softball Classification, Keeping 1A As ‘Rural’
June 10, 2015
In the final meeting of the 2014-2015 school year, the Florida High School Athletic Association’s Board of Directors approved a proposal that will add a ninth classification for baseball and softball for the 2015-16 campaign.
The ninth classification for baseball and softball in the upcoming 2015-16 season, using a format similar to what is currently in place for football. In this model, schools will be ranked by student population and divided into nine classifications—the highest two-thirds by population would be divided as evenly as possible into Class 5A through Class 9A and the remaining one-third will be divided as evenly as possible into Class 1A through Class 4A, keeping Class 1A designated as rural.
This model is designed to alleviate concerns about the large enrollment gaps that existed primarily in the lower classifications that were thought to affect competitive balance and this model is scheduled to be implemented for boys and girls basketball and girls volleyball in the 2016-17 school year.
Sustainability Summer Day Camp Planned In Cantonment
June 10, 2015
The Environmental Education Coordination Team will host a week-long summer day camp for children entering 1st through 5th grades, July 20 through 24, at the Roy Hyatt Environmental Center, 1300 Tobias Road in Cantonment. Children will learn the importance of sustainable practices used to protect and preserve our valuable natural resources through hands-on lessons and activities.
Registration is $150, $75 for each additional child, and includes materials for activities, plus mid-morning and afternoon snacks. Camp hours will be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Click here to RSVP.
To make payment or for more information contact Traci Goodhart, (850) 332-7976 Ext. 222 or traci.goodhart@wfrpc.org.
Pictured: John, the Eastern screech owl at the Roy Hyatt Environmental Center, just one of the species children will learn about at an upcoming day camp. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Jacksonville Wins Fourth In A Row Over Blue Wahoos
June 10, 2015
With a fastball that can reach 100, a knee-buckling curveball and deceptive changeup, Robert Stephenson has Southern League hitters under his spell.
The Blue Wahoos pitcher threw his fourth straight dominating game with eight strike outs and three hits in seven innings but lost the one run game, 2-1, to in-state rival Jacksonville Suns in front of 3,481 at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
Pensacola manager Pat Kelly said with “consistency” Stephenson can pitch at any level.
“I saw him his last year coming out of high school and thought this was what he was going to do,” Kelly said. “To me, if you can throw three pitches like that over the plate you can pitch anywhere. It’s just a matter of consistency.”
Stephenson, the Cincinnati Reds top prospect for the second year in a row, has now struck out 71 batters this season, which is third in the Southern League. At one point Tuesday, he struck out five of six batters he faced.
Stephenson is second in the league with 10.46 strikeouts per nine innings and third in opponents’ batting average against him at .191.
Tuesday’s game also marked the first time in his career, that the 22-year-old has thrown at least seven innings three games in a row. He’d like to go nine, he said.
“I’ve been struggling a lot and it’s good to turn things around,” he said. “You’d like to get all your struggling done in the minor leagues so by the time you get up there, you are ready to go.”
His strikeouts mostly came on off-speed pitches ranging from 77 mph to 88 mph. But he did strike out Jacksonville catcher Chadd Krist on a 99 mph fastball.
“Everything is pretty much mechanically locked in,” Stephenson said. “I’m confident now I could get hitters out at the Triple-A or big league level.”
The loss to Jacksonville dropped the Blue Wahoos to 22-35 and last place in the Southern League South Division. The Suns improved to 26-32 to remain in fourth place in the division.
Pensacola has the Southern League’s worst record in one-run games at 6-17 for a .240 winning percentage. They’ve lost 10 of their last 11 games.
Center fielder Kenny Wilson singled and stole second base to lead off the sixth inning. He then scored on a two-out double by first baseman Viosergy Ross, who had struck out in his first two at bats, to take the lead for good, 2-1.
Pensacola knotted the game, 1-1, in the fifth inning when center fielder Beau Amaral, who went 2-3 and is batting .291 in 16 games since May 20, singled sharply up the middle to score catcher Cam Maron, who had doubled to the left center gap.
Jacksonville right fielder Carlos Lopez got the first hit of the game for the Suns on a double in the fourth inning off of Stephenson, moved to third on a wild pitch and then scored the first run, 1-0, on a ground out to shortstop by left fielder Ryan Rieger.
Authorities: Don’t Fall For Power Company Scam
June 10, 2015
Business and residential customers should stay alert for telephone scams
In a continuing scam, area businesses received calls from a person claiming to represent Gulf Power and demanding payment — or their electric service will be cut off.
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday that, in a recent version of the scam, callers request that payment be made by a Reloadit card or a Green Dot card from Walmart, but the utility does not request payment by those methods.
Gulf Power continues to work with law enforcement in reporting these incidents, but the company has received an escalated amount of calls from customers reporting fraudulent calls recently. Customers are being told their electric bill is past due and that their electricity will be cut off if the customer does not provide a credit card payment or other forms of immediate payment.
Gulf Power advises customers that:
• Gulf Power employees will never call a customer at home seeking any personal information, including credit card numbers.
• Gulf Power representatives will never ask a customer for money when they visit a residence.
• All Gulf Power representatives carry badges with picture identification that includes the employee’s name and the company’s name and logo.
Customers should call Gulf Power at 1-800-225-5797 if they have any questions about the identity of anyone representing Gulf Power.
Gulf Power is working with local law enforcement agencies to identify the perpetrators. If anyone has been victimized by one of these schemes, or has any information about suspects, they are asked to call local law enforcement and to contact Gulf Power at 1-800-225-5797.
Melvin Perry Johnson
June 9, 2015
Melvin Perry Johnson passed away peacefully surrounded by loved ones on June 5, 2015. He was born February 20, 1933, the son of Perry and Bertha Johnson of Jay.
He was preceded in death by his brother, Harvey Johnson and his parents Perry and Bertha Johnson.
Melvin is survived by his wife of 58 years, Emily Johnson; four children, Ray (Susan) Johnson, David (Debbie) Johnson, Jeff (Chris) Johnson and Jennifer (Chuck) Mooney. He also had nine grandchildren; Jared, Joshua, Stephanie, David II, Brittany, Jonathan, Candace, Amanda, Grace and one step-grandson Chad. He had 17 great-grandchildren and a special niece Melissa. He is also survived by one brother, Michael (Darlene) Johnson; and sister-in-law, Margie Johnson.
Melvin was a devoted servant of God for 50 years and served in various ministries including Sunday School Superintendant, deacon, prison ministry, and men’s ministry. His passions were accompanying the music team with his guitar and teaching Sunday School. Melvin cherished the times of hunting, fishing, and gardening. He loved mullet fishing in the bays and tight-line fishing in the rivers with his children and friends. He was also a devoted family man and loved spending time with family and friends.
Funeral services were held Tuesday, June 9, 2015, at the Beulah Chapel Assembly of God with Rev. Jim Lassiter, Rev. Eric Bryan and Rev. Shelton Kindig officiating.
Burial was at the Beulah Chapel Cemetery.
Pallbearers were Jared Johnson, Joshua Johnson, David (Bo) Johnson, Jonathan Johnson, Wayne Johnson, Gary Johnson.
Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Homes is in charge of all arrangements.
Jay Elementary Math Teams Place At Pensacola High Tourney
June 9, 2015
Recently, students from Jay Elementary School brought home several awards from a math tournament held at Pensacola High School.
- 4th Grade Results for Individual Round – Avery Mitchem and Jody Godwin received Honorable Mention. Emerson Walters placed tenth overall.
- 4th Grade Results for Team Round – third place overall
- 5th Grade Results for Individual Round – Shawn Thompson received honorable mMention. Megan Bethea placed first overall.
- 6th Grade Results for Individual Round – Katelyn Mayo placed eighth overall, Brody Johnson placed fourth overall, and Carson Walters placed second overall.
With the combined scores the fourth and fifth grades, Jay Elementary walked away with a second place overall sweepstakes trophy.
Pictured are Jay Elementary fourth and fifth grade math team members (L-R) Andrew Diamond, Kristin Archer, Megan Bethea, Emerson Walters, Hope Lashley, Avery Mitchem, Jody Godwin, Dylan Bradley, Preston Smith and Shawn Thompson. Picturd below: Jay Elementary sixth grade team members Katelyn Mayo, Emma Knowles, Brody Johnson, Bray Watson and Carson Walters. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
House, Senate Agree On Solution To Juvenile Detention Dispute With Escambia, Santa Rosa, Other Counties
June 9, 2015
House and Senate budget writers have agreed on a potential solution to a long-running dispute between the state and27 counties — including Escambia and Santa Rosa — about who pays to lock up juvenile offenders.
The counties and the state Department of Juvenile Justice have repeatedly battled about how to split the tab under a 2004 law that requires counties to pay “pre-disposition” costs associated with juvenile offenders who are waiting for their cases to be resolved in court.
Now, lawmakers from both chambers are united behind a 57-43 split — the counties would pay 57 percent, the state 43 percent — with no back payments for money that counties contend they overpaid in the past.
That’s a long way from the 50-50 split the counties almost got in 2014. During this year’s budget talks, counties still hoped for that split and wanted reimbursement for past years.
But Sen. Rob Bradley, a Fleming Island Republican and one of the key negotiators in the dispute, said a recent decision by an administrative law judge “confirmed that the 57-43 split was consistent with statute.”
“I think we had a pretty good idea that that was the fair split,” agreed House Justice Appropriations Chairman Larry Metz, R-Yalaha.
The counties have long argued that their costs for juvenile detention amounted to an unfunded mandate. While the 2004 law requires counties to pay “pre-disposition” costs, the department pays the costs of detaining youths whose cases have been decided — known as “post-disposition.” But counties and the state have never agreed on what those terms meant.
For several years, the rulings favored the counties. In 2012, Administrative Law Judge W. David Watkins ruled against the state, and the 1st District Court of Appeal upheld his decision the following year.
Following those rulings, the 2014 Legislature considered a bill that would have created a 50-50 split. But the measure died when the counties insisted on recouping $140 million for past overpayments.
In April, Watkins issued another ruling in the dispute, with both sides claiming victory. Watkins found that some parts of a rule proposed by the Department of Juvenile Justice to carry out the law were improper. But he also found in favor of the department on a key issue involving who should pay detention costs when juvenile offenders commit probation violations.
Now, that ruling is driving the Legislature’s efforts to come up with a solution.
“Our desire is to bring finality to this issue,” Bradley said.
“At this time we just want to continue working with the leaders of the House and Senate to see if we can reach a true partnership,” said Florida Association of Counties spokeswoman Cragin Mosteller.
Also, a budget-related bill that is still being negotiated contains language that could force some counties to make back payments to the state. It “requires the Department of Revenue to review county juvenile-detention payments to the Department of Juvenile Justice to ensure that counties are fulfilling their financial responsibilities. If the Department of Revenue determines that a county has not met its obligations, it must deduct the amount owed to the Department of Juvenile Justice from shared revenue funds provided to the county.”
But Bradley also noted that lawmakers had reinstated language in the so-called budget “implementing” bill that would suspend for one year a requirement that counties spend 1.5 percent more on county-funded court system obligations.
“They are our partners, and that was a show of good faith to them that we are hearing their concerns,” he said.
Mosteller agreed that the court language “is a big help to counties. Counties invest as they need to for court infrastructure, and to have it mandated is really just another unfunded mandate. So we really appreciate the language that would allow counties to make that choice.”
by Margie Menzel, The News Service of Florida
Atmore Airport Lands $1.8 Million Grant For Runway
June 9, 2015
The City of Atmore has received a $1.8 million grant to rehabilitate the runway at the Atmore Municipal Airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration grant will provide $1,843,641 in federal funding to overlay 4,952 feet of runway pavement that has reached the end of its useful life. The grant will also fund grading improvements to runway safety areas to meet FAA design standards.
Pictured: A plane alongside Runway 18/36 at the Atmore Airport. Photo by Ditto Gorme for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century’s New Gas Supervisor On The Job
June 9, 2015
Century’s new gas superintendent is on the job. Walter “Wally” Kellett came from Memphis, TN, where he retired from the municipal utility.
Kellett worked for Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division in Memphis, from 1990 until this year, and was the department’s Supervisor of Gas Services from 2001 to 2015, according to his resume. At Memphis Light, Gas and Water, he was responsible for the direction of nearly 50 employees in a system with 313,000 meters. During his tenure, he also worked as a commercial and industrial service representative, a commercial and industrial gas welder installer and a gas utility technician. He holds numerous industry-related professional licenses and certifications, his resume states.
Kellett recently retired from Memphis Light, Gas and Water and was looking to move to Florida with his wife.
In Century, Kellett replaced a longtime employee Eddie Hammond who retired recently.
New Molino Traffic Signal at Highway 29 And Highway 97 To Become Active On Thursday
June 9, 2015
The new traffic signal at Highway 29 and Highway 97 in Molino will become operational at about 10 a.m. on Thursday. Drivers are being advised by the Florida Department of Transportation to use caution when approaching the intersection.