Bernice Grace Gipson
July 29, 2015
Bernice Grace Gipson, 87 of Walnut Hill, passed away Tuesday, July 28, 2015, at her residence. She was retired from Vanity Fair Mills as a seamstress. She was born in Gateswood, AL to the late John P. and Lula Bell Young Ward.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Jackson “Gip” Henry Gipson.
Survivors include one son, Bro. Joe (Sylvia) Gipson; two daughters, Judy (Donald) Lambert and Sue (Steve) Byrd, all of Walnut Hill; nine grandchildren; 32 great-grandchildren and 11 great-great-grandchildren.
Services will be Sunday, August 2, 2015, at 2 p.m. from the Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home Chapel with Bro. John Spence and Bro. Ray McCullough officiating.
Interment will follow in Dry Springs Cemetery.
Active pallbearers will be Chris Morris, James Morris, Wiley Gipson, Anthony Gipson, Tim Lambert and Shane Byrd.
Honorary pallbearers will be Daniel Creel, Tucson Amerson, Nicky Lambert, and Ryan Lambert.
Family will receive friends Saturday, August 1, 2015, at Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m.
Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home is in charge of all arrangements.
Pamela Hulbert Dannelly
July 29, 2015
Pam taught at Pensacola Liberal Arts for two years and went on to excel at teaching chorus at Ransom Middle School in Escambia County. During her 32 years at Ransom, Pam filled hundreds of students with her love of music. She was twice selected as Teacher of the Year and was a finalist for County Teacher of the Year each time. Under her direction, the chorus program at Ransom grew from 34 students to over 230 students each year. In addition to teaching chorus, Pam was a piano teacher to many in our community and, more recently, continued to teach her own grandchildren. Her love for music was infectious and permeated her life and the lives of her family. Many of her students have gone on to have careers in music and/or teaching.
Pam was active in volunteer work with the Great Gulf Coast Arts Festival children’s stage, the Interfaith Jail Ministry, the Suit Yourself Ministry and was an active member of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International. Pam gave much of her time and talents over the years serving in many areas of First United Methodist Church, where she was a lifelong member. She taught numerous Sunday school classes, was a communion steward and coordinator, an active participant in the adult choir and hand bell choir, and served as a mid high coordinator. Pam also served as president of the United Methodist Women and chaired their Christmas Creations program for many years. She had an amazing faith, a deep love for her church, and kept her love of God and her family a priority in everything she did. Pam’s strong faith never wavered during her journey and she consistently kept her focus on Him, witnessing to others along the way.
Pam’s husband, Bill, and her boys, were the loves of her life and she loved her daughter-in-laws as her own. She truly adored her four grandchildren and instilled in them her love of music and family. Her favorite times were when her family was together and she always made them her focus.
She is preceded in death by her father, William Herbert Hulbert and her son, William Christopher Dannelly.
She is survived by her husband of 46 years, Bill Dannelly; son and daughter-in law, Jeff and Jennifer Dannelly, Niceville, FL; daughter-in-law, Kathy Dannelly, Duluth GA; grandchildren, William, Emerson, Grayson and Harper Dannelly; mother, Janice Hulbert, Pensacola, FL; brothers and sisters-in law, Alan Hulbert and Sue Sumner, Alpharetta, GA, Rick and Pam Hulbert, Helena, MT; nephews, nieces, cousins and many extended family members and friends.
A Memorial Service and Celebration of Pam’s life will be held Saturday, August 1, 2015 at 10:00am at First United Methodist Church, 6 E. Wright Street, Pensacola, FL. Dr. Henry Roberts and Dr. Wesley Wachob will be officiating. Following the service, a reception will be held in The Wright Place.
The family would like to thank the Sacred Heart Oncology Group, as well as the wonderful nurses at Sacred Heart Hospital, for showing Pam such love and respect while she was with them.
Because she was such an intricate part of so many lives and was loved by all, she will be deeply missed.
Because of Pam’s lifelong love of music, in lieu of flowers, the family would like donations to be made to the Music Ministry of First United Methodist Church\
Wahoos Fall To Lookouts
July 29, 2015
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos (17-14, 42-57) got off to a hot start but fell to the Chattanooga Lookouts (12-17, 55-42) at AT&T Field Tuesday night.
Wahoos starter Daniel Wright (7-8, 4.66) fell after three consecutive wins on a night in which he gave up seven runs on nine hits in 3.2 innings. Most of the damage came in the decisive fourth inning, when the Lookouts had seven runs on six hits and a pair of walks. He was relieved by Wandy Peralta, newly a member of the bullpen, who went 3.0 and gave up a run on four hits.
Chattanooga’s Brett Lee (1-4, 4.25) earned his first Double-A win in nine tries this season as he went 5.0 innings while allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits.
The Wahoos struck first in the second with a three-run inning keyed by a two-RBI double from Seth Mejias-Brean, who lead the Wahoos at the plate as he went 2-4. He would later score on a throwing error to make it 3-0.
After a few frames of quiet baseball, the Lookouts made some noise in the bottom of the fourth as they scored seven runs on six hits, taking a 7-3 lead and chasing Wright out of the game in the process.
The Wahoos attempted to cut into the lead in the top of the fifth as they loaded the bases without a hit, but they came up empty as Lee was able to hold strong.
The Lookouts added to their lead as Shannon Wilkerson drove in a run on a double to right field, making the score 8-3.
The Wahoos threatened again in the eighth as Juan Duran’s double and Mejias-Brean’s single put runners at the corners with nobody out. However, the Wahoos came up empty.
RHP Kevin Shackelford did not give up a hit in the eighth inning as he made his 20th appearance since April 25. Since then, he’s gone 1-3 with a 1.50 ERA (four earned runs in 24.0 innings of work) with nine walks and 12 strikeouts.
The Wahoos have now dropped four straight after reaching the top of the division last week at 17-10.
The Blue Wahoos are on a 10-day road trip against the Chattanooga Lookouts and Jacksonville Suns.
Miller Among U.S. Senate Hopefuls; Pollster Says No Front-Runner Yet
July 28, 2015
In another sign of “muddled” races, Congressmen Alan Grayson and Patrick Murphy are virtually tied in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, while Congressman David Jolly holds a slight lead among announced Republican candidates, according to a Mason-Dixon poll released Monday. No far behind is Congressman Jeff Miller of Chumuckla.
“There is no clear favorite in either primary race for Florida’s open U.S. Senate seat,” pollster Brad Coker said in an analysis accompanying the results. “In the current field of declared or highly likely candidates, no one currently appears to have enough strength to be labeled as the ‘front-runner.’ ”
The race to replace Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio likely will be one of the most-closely watched Senate contests in the country in 2016. But it has not attracted any candidates with big statewide names, leading to primaries that Coker described as “muddled to say the least.”
“There is no clear favorite in either primary race for Florida’s open U.S. Senate seat,” pollster Brad Coker said in an analysis accompanying the results. “In the current field of declared or highly likely candidates, no one currently appears to have enough strength to be labeled as the ‘front-runner.’ ”
A Quinnipiac University poll released last month also showed that voters knew little about the candidates.
The Mason-Dixon poll, conducted last week, showed Grayson with the support of 33 percent of registered Democratic voters and Murphy with the support of 32 percent. The poll indicated 35 percent of Democrats were undecided in such a head-to-head match-up.
On the GOP side, the poll gave Jolly the support of 16 percent of registered Republicans. He was followed by Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera at 10 percent; Congressman Ron DeSantis at 9 percent; Congressman Jeff Miller at 8 percent; and Orlando businessman Todd Wilcox at 2 percent. A whopping 55 percent of GOP voters indicated they were undecided.
Miller has not announced whether he will run for the seat.
The poll also asked voters about two potential wildcards in the Senate race: Democratic Congresswoman Gwen Graham and former state Attorney General Bill McCollum. Both have faced speculation that they will run for Senate, with the speculation about Graham largely fueled by an upcoming congressional redistricting process.
Graham, the daughter of former Gov. and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, trailed the other Democrats by double digits in a hypothetical contest, with Murphy at 26 percent, Grayson at 24 percent and Graham at 11 percent.
“It is apparent that most Florida Democrats statewide currently do not make the personal connection between her and her iconic father — former Governor and Senator Bob Graham,” Coker said in the analysis. “Over the course of a campaign that would change of course, and she certainly has great potential to become the heavy Democratic favorite over the next year. But she will have some work to do to get there.”
McCollum, meanwhile, would jump to the top of the Republican field. When his name was added to the poll, McCollum was at 22 percent, Jolly was at 11 percent, DeSantis was at 8 percent, Lopez-Cantera was at 7 percent, Miller was at 6 percent and Wilcox was at 1 percent.
In the analysis, however, Coker noted that McCollum has lost statewide races in the past, including the governor’s race in 2010 and two U.S. Senate bids.
“Given his history of losing early leads in several previous statewide races, that number (22 percent) would not be daunting enough to scare away any rivals,” Coker said.
Coker’s firm, Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc., conducted the poll from July 20 through Friday. It surveyed 500 registered Republican voters and 500 registered Democrats. The results said the margin of error is “no more than 4.5 percentage points.”
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
Millions Available For RESTORE Projects For Individuals, Businesses, Organizations
July 28, 2015
Individuals, businesses and organizations in Escambia County have the opportunity to submit projects for millions of dollars in RESTORE projects to be funded with civil penalties from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Monday evening, a Distirct 5 pubic workshop was held at the Langley Bell 4-H Center to give residents an opportunity to learn more about using the project portal, answer questions regarding application preparation and submission, and encourage collaboration.
The Escambia County RESTORE Project Application Portal is now open and can be accessed by visiting restore.myescambia.com until September 30.
Submitted projects must:
- Meet at least one of the eligibility criteria outlined in the federal RESTORE Act (see eligible activities)
- Include a project budget
- Address the evaluation criteria which can be found at www.myescambia.com/restore
Once the application portal closes, project proposals will be evaluated by the technical review team consisting of subject matter experts, the RESTORE Act Advisory Committee and the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners.
During the review process, applicants may be contacted for more information. Once all projects have been ranked, a list of recommended projects will be posted on www.myescambia.com/restore. The public will have an opportunity to provide comments on the project list. The Board of County Commissioners has the final authority for approval of the project list before it is submitted to the U.S. Department of Treasury for federal level review.
For more information, contact Shelly Marshall, RESTORE coordinator for Escambia County, at (850) 595-5460, email restore@myescambia.com.
One additional public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 11 at the Gull Point Community Center at 7000 Spanish Trail Road.
Pictured: A Monday evening District 5 RESTORE project meeting at the Langley Bell 4-H Center in Cantonment. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Hot, Near 100 This Afternoon
July 28, 2015
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
This Afternoon: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 99. North wind around 5 mph becoming west. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Tonight: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10pm. Mostly clear, with a low around 75. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight.
Wednesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Increasing clouds and hot, with a high near 97. Heat index values as high as 107. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph in the morning.
Wednesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 75. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 95. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph.
Thursday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 76. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph.
Friday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 93. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 75. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Saturday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 91. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph in the morning.
Saturday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74.
Sunday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 90.
Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74.
Monday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91.
Pictured: It was 97 degrees at Ernest Ward Middle School on Highway 97 in Walnut Hill at 1:26 Tuesday afternoon. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Court Orders Resentencing For ‘Gravely Ill’ Sex Offender
July 28, 2015
An appeals court Monday ordered a new sentencing hearing for a “gravely ill” Santa Rosa County sex offender who could face nearly five years in prison for failing to report a new address.
The inmate, 50-year old Anthony Paul Childers, sought to have his 57.6-month sentence reduced because of severe medical conditions including cirrhosis of the liver and internal bleeding. His attorneys pointed to part of state law that allows such reductions when inmates have physical disabilities and are “amenable” to treatment.
A Santa Rosa County judge turned down Childers’ request.
But a three-judge panel of the 1st District Court ordered resentencing because it said it was “unable to discern from the record why the trial court rejected (Childers’) request for a downward departure sentence.” The ruling said Childers pleaded no contest to a charge of failing to report or register a change in address. It said a circuit judge should determine whether Childers meets the legal requirements for a reduced sentence and, if so, whether that is the “best sentencing option” for him.
Northview Grad Weeks Inks With Jeff Davis Baseball
July 28, 2015
Northview High School graduate Brett Weeks has signed a full baseball scholarship with Jefferson Davis Community College in Brewton. Weeks was part of Northview’s district and regional championship teams and the’s first appearance in the state final four. Pictured: Brett Weeks (center), his mother Julie Weeks, father Ray Weeks (right) and Northview Coach Marty Lister (standing). Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Jo Ann Joyce
July 28, 2015
Jo Ann Joyce, 77, went home to be with the Lord, July 27, 2015. Jo Ann was born August 25, 1937, in Evergreen, AL to the late Gertrude and Zell Potts. The family moved to Pensacola when she was at a young age and she has lived here most of her life. Jo Ann is a born again Christian, King James Bible believer and a member of Charity Baptist Church. She is now in Heaven with her many loved ones and friends, especially her Christian mentor and sister in Christ, Mary Sims.
She is preceded in death by her parents; brother, Lamar Potts; and a sister, Gloria Jean DeCosta.
Jo Ann is survived by her loving husband, Ronnie; daughter, Kimberly Schaaf; son, Leonard Joyce; sister, Mazelle (Jack) Lewis; brothers, Wendell (Ruby) Potts, Alvin (Marie) Potts and Haywood (Teresa) Potts; grandchildren, Brandon (Megan), Kayla, and Calvin Schaaf, and Megan Martin; and many nieces and nephews.
Jo Ann and Ronnie were married 53 years and 73 days on this earth, but will be reunited in Heaven one day for eternity.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Gospel Country at WHBR Christian Television Network, 6500 Pensacola Blvd, Pensacola, FL 32505.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, July 31, 2015, at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North with burial following at Eastern Gate Memorial Gardens. Dr. James McGaughey will have the honor of officiating Jo Ann’s Going Home Celebration.
Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. prior to services at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North.
Pallbearers will be Steven Barry, Wayne Blackmon, John Lovrien, Ian Skelley, Kenneth Stanford, and Sandy Wyatt.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home North is in charge of arrangements.
Mary Vaughn Simpson
July 28, 2015
Our mother was born November 7, 1923, in Molino. She passed to her heavenly home on July 27, 2015, surrounded by her loving family at her home. She was a lifelong member of the Telephone Pioneers of America.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Bernice and William Vaughn; son, Billy L. Simpson; three sisters, Bette Luth, Leslie Geranson, and Emma Ruth Churchill; and one brother, Melvin Vaughn.
Mom is survived by two sons, Michael (Shirley) Ghiorso and Fred (Diane) Ghiorso; two daughters, Kim (James) Freeman and Peggy (Michael) Smith; and two brothers, Roderick (Virginia) Vaughn and Luther Vaughn.
Visitation will be held Thursday, July 30, 2015, beginning at 10 a.m. Funeral services will follow at 11 a.m. at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North with burial to follow in Crabtree Church Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Kasie Helpzkidz (www.khkidz.org).
Pallbearers will be James Freeman II, Tim Freeman, and Gregory Monroe.
Honorary pallbearers will be the Escambia County Sheriff Traffic Unit.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home North is in charge of arrangements.