Results: Northview Preseason Volleyball Classic
August 21, 2015
Here are results from a volleyball preseason classic Thursday at Northview High School
Court 1, Game 1 Laurel Hill vs Central
20-25, 26-24, 17-15 Laurel Hill wins
Court 2, Game 1 Jay vs PCA
32-34, 25-14, 15-9 Jay wins
Court 1, Game 3 Laurel Hill vs NHS
25-17, 26-24 Laurel Hill wins
Court 2, Game 4 Central vs PCA
25-21, 26-16 Central wins
Court 1, Game 5 Jay vs Laurel hill
20-25, 27-25, 15-12 Jay wins
NorthEscambia.com photos by Gary Amerson, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Top Lookouts
August 21, 2015
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos (30-23 ,55-66) came away victorious over the Chattanooga Lookouts (23-28, 66-53) by a score of 3-1 in front of 4,156 fans Thursday night at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
Wahoos starter Tim Adleman (8-8) was stellar once again as he pitched 7.1 innings while allowing only one run on five hits. The effort brought his ERA down to 2.21, the best among Southern League starters. Adleman did not allow a run until the eighth inning, allowing him to reach 19.2 consecutive innings pitched without a run allowed. The feat is the longest for a Wahoo pitcher this season, breaking his previous record of 17.1 innings.
Chattanooga starter Aaron Slegers (1-2) earned the loss despite a decent effort, allowing three runs on six hits through 6.2 innings. Zack Weiss earned the save for the Wahoos, his 22nd of the season. The number ties a team record for saves in a season.
Kyle Skipworth, who went 2-3 with an RBI and a run, led the Wahoos at the plate. It marked Skipworth’s first multi-hit game since June 22nd.
The Wahoos got on the board first in the bottom of the second when Skipworth brought Marquez Smith home on an RBI single up the middle. It was Skipworth’s first RBI since August 6th at Jacksonville.
Chattanooga threatened in the top of the fourth, but Juan Duran came up big in the outfield. D.J. Hicks tagged up at third on a would-be sacrifice fly, but Duran was able to one-hop a throw from right field to Skipworth at the plate, ending the frame.
The Wahoos extended the lead in the bottom of the seventh. Ray Chang’s shot to the corner in left resulted in an RBI double that scored Skipworth. Beau Amaral made it 3-0 on an RBI single that plated Chang.
Amaral also came up huge with two SportsCenter worthy diving catches in center field while Phillip Ervin, who made his Double-A debut, raved for an out in left field.
The Lookouts cut into the lead in the eighth inning on a Max Kepler RBI single. Kepler extended his hit streak to nine games on the play.
Danny Becomes A Hurricane, Local Weather Update
August 20, 2015
The latest information on Hurricane Danny is in the graphic above. Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 7pm. Patchy fog after 2am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. Calm wind.
Saturday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 92. Calm wind.
Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 94. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Monday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 94. North wind around 5 mph.
Monday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 71. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92. North wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 66.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 89.
Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 66.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 90.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 69.
Friday: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 90.
Century Youth Football Donation, Mayor’s Spending Raise IRS, Legal Questions
August 20, 2015
The acceptance of an anonymous donation to the Town of Century for a youth football program and how those funds were disbursed by the mayor without propert authority have raised legal and tax questions.
At last Monday night’s meeting of the Century Town Council, Mayor Freddie McCall notified the council that an anonymrous “football player” had donated a “substantial” amount of money toward the youth football program in Century. McCall said the donor had discovered that youth program’s sponsoring organization, the “Century Recreation Association”, had in fact lost their tax exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service.
In order for the donor to receive a possible tax write-off for the donation, McCall told the council that the town had accepted the donation, and he had authorized a payment made to the Century Recreation Association for the full amount of the donation. During the council meeting, McCall declined when asked to identify the football player and the amount of the donation.
NorthEscambia.com has since learned that the donation was for $2,093, a very specific amount needed to replace youth football equipment that belonged to the recreation association, not the town, that was stolen from Anthony Pleasant Park. The donation was made by the football player through a trust fund.
(NorthEscambia.com has confirmed the name of the football player, but in keeping with his wishes to help local youth while remaining anonymous, we are not disclosing his name as the source of the funds is irrelevant to this story.)
McCall then asked the council to allow the Century Recreation Association to solicit donations from individuals and businesses with checks made payable to the Town of Century, allowing donors to receive a tax write-off. The donations would then be passed through the town’s accounts to the non-tax exempt Century Recreation Association. The council took no action on his request, with concerns voiced over the legality of the request.
“I can’t vote for that,” Council President Ann Brooks, also a certified public accountant, said.
In a memo to the town council dated Wednesday, McCall wrote, “Concern was raised regarding circumventing Internal Revenue Service rules and even misuse of public funds. In addition, questions were asked as to the validity of the Town donating to organizations that are not registered with the IRS as a not-for-profit entity.”
In the memo, McCall expressed several points supporting his decisions that were written after consulting with Town Attorney Matt Dannheisser.
The funds, the mayor said, were provided to the Century Recreation Association for a public purpose — “to buy equipment for our young people to participate in organized sports is indeed a public purpose. Providing recreational opportunities and community events such as football games is valuable to our community. The Town is well within its right to take public funds to pay for these things.”
According to the Florida Department of State Division of Corporations’ online search tools, the “Century Recreation Association” is currently not a legal entity or organization name in the State of Florida. And, as reported by the mayor, IRS records confirm there is no such tax exempt organization.
But Dannheisser told NorthEscambia.com that the town is still allowed to pass donations to the loosely formed organization if the council determines the spending serves a public purpose.
In his memo, McCall said he thought of the funds as a “pass-thru”, but he exceeded the $200 mayoral spending limits in the town charter.
“I did not have authority to spend the funds without Council approval,” he wrote. He plans to ask the council at their next regular meeting on September 14 to consider whether the funds were spent on a public purpose and ratify his actions.
The “Century Recreation Association” is expected to provide receipts showing how the $2,093 was spent. The town routinely verifies receipts from other organizations that receive town funding for a public purpose.
Battle Continues Over Doctor-Patient Gun Law
August 20, 2015
Raising concerns about First Amendment rights and public health, opponents of a controversial Florida law aimed at restricting doctors from asking questions about patients’ gun ownership have asked a full federal appeals court to take up the issue.
A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last month upheld the constitutionality of the 2011 law, which has drawn heavy attention and was dubbed the “docs vs. glocks” law. The 2-1 ruling was a victory for gun-rights supporters such as the National Rifle Association and a defeat for medical groups.
Attorneys for opponents filed documents Tuesday asking the full appeals court to hear the case, a move known as seeking an “en banc” hearing. The documents also make clear that opponents plan to go to the U.S. Supreme Court if they continue to be unsuccessful at the Atlanta-based appeals court.
“The (appeals-court panel) majority’s decision breaks with established precedent and will invite other attempts to silence professional speech because of its message,” one of the documents said. “(The law), on its face, restricts professional speech on the basis of its content, and disagreement with a particular viewpoint is what spurred its passage.”
The law includes a series of restrictions on doctors and other health providers. For example, it seeks to prevent physicians from entering information about gun ownership into medical records if the physicians know the information is not “relevant” to patients’ medical care or safety or to the safety of other people.
Also, the law says doctors should refrain from asking about gun ownership by patients or family members unless the doctors believe in “good faith” that the information is relevant to medical care or safety. Also, the law seeks to prevent doctors from discriminating against patients or “harassing” them because of owning firearms.
In the panel ruling last month, the majority pointed to instances in which doctors could continue justify asking about firearms, such as in the case of a patient considered at risk of suicide.
“The purpose of the act, as we read it, is not to protect patient privacy by shielding patients from any and all discussion about firearms with their physicians; the act merely requires physicians to refrain from broaching a concededly sensitive topic when they lack any good-faith belief that such information is relevant to the medical care or safety of their patients or others,” the majority opinion said.
The documents filed Tuesday said the law has effectively remained on hold during a legal battle, which included a federal district judge issuing a preliminary injunction in 2011 and further ruling against the law in 2012. A stay remains in place while the opponents seek a hearing before the full appeals court.
But one of the documents filed Tuesday also asked for a stay to remain in place if the request for an “en banc” hearing is rejected. That is because opponents would take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“If the challenged provisions are permitted to take effect, (the law) ensures that Florida residents will receive less information about firearm safety from their physicians,” the document said. “The public health consequences of allowing the act to go into effect at all — let alone while the Supreme Court still is considering it — are clear, and they are significant.”
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
Escambia Firefighters Work To Keep School Zones Safe
August 20, 2015
Escambia County Fire Rescue trucks are in school zones across the county during this first week of school with lights flashing as a reminder to drivers to slow down. Pictured: An Escambia Fire Rescue truck in the Molino Park Elementary school zone on Highway 97. NorthEscambia.com photo by Kristi Price, click to enlarge.
Undocumented Immigrants Could See Tougher Penalties
August 20, 2015
A Senate Republican on Wednesday filed a proposal that would stiffen penalties for people who are in the country illegally and commit violent crimes.
The bill (SB 150), filed by Sen. Travis Hutson, R-Elkton, will be considered during the 2016 legislative session, which starts in January. The bill would increase the criminal penalties for undocumented immigrants who commit offenses such as assault, aggravated assault and battery.
For example, a crime that ordinarily would be considered a first-degree misdemeanor would be upgraded to a third-degree felony. As another example, a crime that ordinarily would be a second-degree felony would be upgraded to a first-degree felony.
by The News Service of Florida
Five Arrested For Dog Fighting
August 20, 2015
Five people have been jailed after a dog fighting investigation in Escambia County.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded to the 3800 block of Moreno Street in reference to a report of possible dog fighting. After an investigation, five suspects were arrested and several vehicles and guns were seized, along with a bulletproof vest.
Deputies arrested Kawain Marquese Smith, 25; Donald Andrew Gaston, 26; Roderick Terrill Foster, 28; Derric Shermaine Kitt, 28; and Eric Jermaine Kitt, 28.
Each suspect was charged with nine counts of animal cruelty and two counts of animal fighting. Smith was also charged with three counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Deputies said additional arrests are possible.
Nine dogs were seized by Escambia County Animal Control. Seven of those dogs were euthanized, while two puppies are undergoing medical treatment. The dogs were euthanized due to injuries and severe aggression issues.
Chattanooga Tops The Pensacola Blue Wahoos 11-0
August 20, 2015
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos (29-23, 54-66) fell to the Chattanooga Lookouts (23-27, 66-52) by a score of 11-0 in front of 3,852 fans at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium. The loss puts the Wahoos half of a game behind the Mobile BayBears, who were postponed due to rain.
Pensacola starter Sal Romano (0-2) earned the loss on a rough night in which he wasn’t able to get through the first inning. He allowed five runs on five hits and two walks.
Chattanooga starter, Brett Lee (5-4), a Pensacola native and West Florida High grad, earned the win with 7.0 shutout innings. Lee allowed only two hits in the effort.
Joel Bender was the star of the night for the Wahoos, pitching 4.0 shutout innings in the middle of the game. The effort was his longest of the year for the Wahoos.
The Wahoos would only get three hits on the nights against Lookout pitching, with Alex Blandino, Yovan Gonzalez and Ryan Wright each hitting safely.
The Lookouts got things started with bang, as they scored five runs on five hits in the top of the first inning. All of the runs were scored with two outs, and Jacob Johnson would replace Romano before the frame’s conclusion.
Chattanooga would extend the lead to 7-0 in the next inning with a two-run shot from Max Kepler. They would then add two more on a two-run double from Stuart Turner.
Jorge Polanco would make it 10-0 in favor of the Lookouts in the third, taking a solo shot to the bay in left field.
The crowd received a much-needed jolt of enthusiasm in the ninth as infielder and fan favorite Ray Chang took the mound for the Wahoos. He allowed a run on a hit and a walk in his fourth appearance in 11 years.
Court Backs Health Providers In Fight With Allstate
August 20, 2015
A South Florida appeals court Wednesday sided with medical providers in a series of cases filed against Allstate Insurance Co. about payments for treating patients in the state’s no-fault auto insurance system. The ruling, which involved 32 consolidated cases, dealt with whether policies were clear that Allstate would reimburse the providers under a fee schedule from the Medicare program. The fee schedule includes limits on payments for services. The providers argued that the policies were “ambiguous” on the issue, and a majority of a three-judge panel of the 4th District Court of Appeal agreed. The majority opinion, written by Chief Judge Cory Ciklin and joined by Judge Spencer Levine, said legal precedents “make clear that insurance statutes require clarity and specificity in electing fee schedules with respect to PIP (personal injury protection) medical benefits coverage.” But Judge Melanie May dissented, arguing that medical providers had led the court’s majority “down the yellow brick road.” She also pointed to the purpose of the no-fault system, which provides at least a minimum amount of health coverage for injuries suffered in car accidents. “Providers … look to get paid as much as possible, but that does not inure to the insured’s (policyholder’s) benefit,” she wrote. “The less costly the services provided, the more services the insured can receive. While some providers may choose to not treat an insured if their fee is limited to the Medicare fee schedules, that problem is one of the provider’s making, not that of the insurer.”
by The News Service of Florida