Molino 16U Lady Jaguars End Near Perfect Fall Season
November 12, 2015
The Molino 16U Lady Jaguars finished their fall season at 11-1. After losing their first game of the season, the team won 11 straight, coming from behind for the win in their last five games. Team members were Abigayil Mascaro, Jillian Gullahorn, Kaylee Bush, Ivy New, Kaylynn Swartzendriver, Jasmine Crabtree, Kristen Warlick, Alyssa Mcquaid, Lauren Metzler and Meredith Morgan. Coaches were Donnie Nicholson and Anthony Swartzendriver. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Veterans Day Closures
November 11, 2015
The following will be closed Wednesday for the Veterans Day holiday:
- Escambia (Fla. & Ala.) and Santa Rosa county schools
- Escambia (Fla. & Ala.) and Santa Rosa county offices
- Century, Jay, Milton, Pensacola, Atmore, Flomaton city offices
- U.S. Post Office — retail windows closed, no mail delivery or collection, except for Express Mail
- Florida state offices
- Federal offices
- No bus service from ECAT
- West Florida Public Libraries, including Century Branch
- Santa Rosa County libraries
- Pensacola State College
- University of West Florida
The Perdido Landfill, excluding the administrative offices, will be open regular hours. There will be no change in the ECUA trash pickup
Veteran’s Final Wish Granted
November 11, 2015
Donald Vaughan, was a high school aged boy when he made the decision to join the Navy. The Vietnam War had just started and the United States needed men to serve. He bravely approached his parents and shared with them his desire to go fight for our country, and although the thought of their son going off to war terrified them, they gave him their blessing.
At just 17 years old, Vaughan joined the United States Navy and was soon deployed to the Gulf of Tonkin, the waters off the coast of northern Vietnam. He was in combat there for a few months when one day, a Skipper approached him to inform him of a significant problem. Because of his age, Vaughan’s parents had to officially give permission for him to be there fighting in the war. In the day and age before high speed internet and the ability to scan documents, the best they could do was use the ship to shore radio to try to contact his parents. Upon finally reaching Vaughn’s father, the Skipper explained that Vaughan needed a verbal okay to remain on the ship and in the war. Vaughn spoke to his father for several minutes, reassuring his dad that being in the Navy was what he wanted to do and that he did in fact sincerely want to stay. After a meaningful dialogue between father and son, Vaughan’s father addressed the Skipper and gave his permission for his son to remain on the ship.
Fast forward to January 1969. Vaughan once again found himself out on the sea on another mission. This time he was on the aircraft carrier the USS Enterprise, which was heading back to Vietnam on its fourth deployment to the region. On the way, the ship stopped in Pearl Harbor to conduct a final battle drill and operational readiness inspection.
The morning of January 14, 1969, as the ship’s crew was preparing for the drills to take place later in the day, the ship was suddenly rocked by a huge explosion as a warhead attached to one of the aircrafts detonated. The massive explosion caused a fire, which then rapidly spread and set off more bombs. Fifteen planes were destroyed, and as shrapnel violently flew about, jet fuel spilled over the deck and caused the fire to grow. Injured sailors crawled out of the flames, many of them helping to carry their wounded shipmates. One of those heroic sailors was young Donald Vaughan. With severe burns covering parts of his body, Vaughan continued running back into the fire to rescue his comrades.
“I didn’t even pay attention to my own burns,” says Vaughan. “I don’t know how many times I went back and forth to pull other men out of the wreckage. I just knew I had to help them.”
When called a hero, Vaughan humbly responds, “I don’t see myself as a hero. That day I was just a person helping my crew members.”
In total, 28 sailors were killed and 314 injured that day aboard the USS Enterprise. Many more would have died had it not been for honorable men like Donald Vaughan.
More than 46 years later, he has traded his uniform for a comfortable gray t-shirt, but Vaughn still proudly wears his nation’s broad stripes and bright stars, which are screen printed across the chest of the shirt he wears. In his bed at home, breathing with the help of oxygen, Vaughan talks about his memories of the Navy and shows his family and the Covenant Hospice team members who are caring for him a book written about the incident aboard the ship. He points out a small figure in a grainy black and white photo – it is him, coming out of the blazing fire, clouds of smoke billowing far overhead.
Vaughan is now spending his last months with his family under the care of Covenant’s hospice program. More than just the traditional medical services most people think of when hospice is mentioned, the philosophy of care treats the patient and family as a unit, and seeks to holistically address all of their needs – mind, body and spirit – as they face a terminal diagnosis.
When asked about his final wishes, as all of Covenant’s patients are, Vaughan told his Covenant team of his love of fishing and of the ocean, a place that for many veterans like Vaughan, has been filled with both terror and triumph. But it was a place he wanted to see one last time.
Covenant made that dream come true for Donald Vaughan and recently took him out on a deep sea fishing trip in the Gulf of Mexico. Accompanied by his grandsons, as well as a nurse and social worker from his hospice team, Vaughan felt at peace.
“To smell the fresh air and feel the salt water on my face and see the ocean all around me for as far as I could see reminded me of my time in the Navy,” he says, reflecting on his recent adventure. “To be able to get back out on the ocean and to be able to share that with my grandsons was priceless to me.”
The fishing trip was funded through one of Covenant’s special programs: “A Hero’s Wish,” The Dale O. Knee Veterans Support Fund. Named after and established in honor of Covenant’s former president and CEO, who also is a Navy veteran, the fund allows Covenant to fulfill dreams and last wishes of patients who valiantly served in our armed forces. Generous contributions from community donors sustain the fund and ensure veterans like Donald Vaughan receive the respect, dignity and compassionate care that they deserve at the end of life.
Pictured top: Covenant Hospice caregivers, including social worker Tamara Hudson (left), coordinated a fishing trip for patient Donald Vaughan (center) and his family with funds from the organization’s “A Hero’s Wish” Veterans Support Fund. Pictured top: Vaughan with his nurse, Tommy Wood, RN. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Identities Released Of Two Shot And Killed At Palafox Gas Station
November 11, 2015
FOR AN UPDATE TO THIS STORY, CLICK HERE.
Previous story:
Two people were shot and killed at a Raceway gas station on North Palafox near Brentwood Elementary School this afternoon. And a short time later, one person was found dead at a movie theater just over two miles away.
Gas Station Shooting
About 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, two males were found dead inside a vehicle at the Raceway gas station at Palafox Street and Mason Lane. They have been identified as Antrone Marquis Moore and Antonio Bullard, both 26-years old.
Witnesses reported hearing gunfire and seeing a black male fleeing the scene. The male was wearing a black hoodie with purple sleeves and the number 23 on the back.
Both victims have extensive criminal histories, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Movie Theater Death
The Escambia County Sheriffs Office is working a death investigation at the Carmike Cinemas on W Street. A man was found dead at the theater just after 3 p.m. Tuesday.
The investigation revealed no obvious signs of foul play and investigators are not searching for any suspects. The victim’s identity will be released pending notification of next of kin. The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information on either incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Pictured top: Two people were shot and killed at this afternoon at this Raceway on Palafox Street near Brentwood Elementary School. Pictured bottom: Deputies on the scene after a body was found at the Carmike Cinema on W Street. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Veterans Day: High 76; Colder Weather Coming
November 11, 2015
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: Areas of fog after midnight. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 58. South wind around 5 mph.
Thursday: A 20 percent chance of showers after 8am. Areas of fog before 8am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 76. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming north in the afternoon.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 46. North wind around 5 mph.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 68. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 40. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 62. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 40. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 65. East wind around 5 mph.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 50. East wind around 5 mph.
Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 72.
Monday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61.
Tuesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 72.
Tuesday Night: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Cloudy, with a low around 60. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Wednesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 70.
Brother Indicted In Family Triple Murder
November 11, 2015
State Attorney Bill Eddins announced Tuesday that an Escambia County Grand Jury has indicted Donald Wayne Hartung for three counts of first degree premeditated murder in the death of his mother and two half-brothers, Voncile Smith, John Smith, and Richard Smith.
All three bodies were found on July 31 in their home on Deerfield Drive. All three were beaten with a claw hammer and their throats slit, and Richard Smith was also shot in the head.
Eddins previously stated that his office intends to seek the death penalty in the case.
At a press conference shortly after the murders, Morgan said witchcraft may have been involved in the killings. After Hartung’s arrest in late October, Morgan said that witchcraft was still “in play”, but it would be up to prosecutors to determine the motive.
House And Senate Consider Medical Marijuana Bills
November 11, 2015
House and Senate Senate panels next Tuesday will consider proposals that would allow terminally ill patients to obtain medical marijuana to help cope with pain, according to legislative calendars.
The House Criminal Justice Subcommittee is slated to take up a bill (HB 307), sponsored by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, and Rep. Katie Edwards, D-Plantation, during a Tuesday morning meeting. Hours later, the Senate Health Policy Committee is scheduled to consider a similar proposal (SB 460), filed by Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island.
The bills piggyback on a law passed earlier this year that allows terminally ill patients to gain access to experimental drugs that have not been approved for general use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. That law, dubbed the “Right to Try Act,” is limited to patients who have terminal conditions and requires that they get approvals from two physicians.
Lawmakers are considering extending the law to allow the use of medical marijuana. Both bills are filed for the 2016 legislative session that starts in January.
They also come as a political committee known as People United for Medical Marijuana seeks to get a broader medical-marijuana initiative on the November 2016 ballot.
by The News Service of Florida
Free Entry On Veterans Day At Florida State Parks
November 11, 2015
In honor of Veterans Day, all visitors will enjoy free entry at Florida State Parks* on Wednesday, Nov. 11. The Florida Park Service encourages residents and visitors to celebrate the contributions of veterans and active military personnel at one of Florida’s 174 state parks, trails and historic sites.
“Veterans Day is a day of reflection and a time when we can thank our veterans for their service in the armed forces,” said Donald Forgione, director of the Florida Park Service. “I am honored to provide free entry to Florida State Parks for everyone to recognize our veterans.”
All other use fees, such as overnight accommodations and tours, will be charged as usual.
Pictured: Big Lagoon State Park.
Town Of Century Honors Local Veterans
November 11, 2015
The Town of Century honored veterans on Tuesday with a special program.
The program included guests Rep. Mike Hill, the Byrneville Elementary School Chorus and the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Northview Honors Veterans
November 11, 2015
Northview High School honored veterans Tuesday with their annual Veterans Day program.
The guest speaker was Captain Carl Mock, United States Navy, retired. Captain Mock served 38 years before retiring in June 2005. During his 38 years of service he rose through the ranks from E-1 to O-6. His final active duty tour was as Commanding Officer, Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training, NAS Pensacola .
Photos courtesy Northview Yearbook for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
