Tate Earns District Win Over Washington (With Photo Gallery)

October 3, 2015

The Tate Aggies won their first district game Friday night as they powered past the Washington Wildcast 38-21.

Washington took the lead 7-0 with 8:43 to go in the fist quarter at Pete Gindl Stadium in Cantonment following a 16-yard touchdown dash. A 57-yard drive ended for Tate with 5:23 to go in the first with a two-yard quarterback keeper from Sawyer Smith. Alonte Thompson was in on the two-point conversion to put the Aggies up 8-7.

Jake Henry hit paydirt from 34-yards out and, along with a good kick from Evan Legassey, the Aggies were up 15-7 with 37 seconds on the clock in the first.

Tate expanded their advantage to 22-7 with 8:28 to go in the second quarter on a touchdown dash from Alondo Thompkins. The Wildcats answered, with the score 22-13 Tate at the half.

The Aggies scored again with 7:50 in the third, with Thompkins from a couple of yards out. Tate missed a later field goal attempt, and Washington pulled within one TD, 29-21 with 9:30 to go in the ballgame.

Thompkins scored again in the fourth for the Aggies on a 49-yard run to put Tate on top 35-21. Then, with 4:08 in the ballgame, Legassey chipped in a 35-yard field goal for the final score 38-21.

The Tate Aggies (4-1, 1-0)) will take the short drive across the river to Pace next Friday night to take on the Patiots at 7:30 p.m.

For more photos, click here.

NorthEscambia.com photos by Keith Garrison, click to enlarge.



Friday Night Finals

October 3, 2015

Here is a look at tonight’s final scores from high school football games across the North Escambia area.

FLORIDA

ALABAMA

  • Flomaton 38, Choctaw County 20
  • Miller 27, Opp 26
  • W.S. Neal 57, Monroe County High 20
  • Escambia County (Atmore) 26, Faith Academy 14;
  • Monroe Academy 41, Escambia Academy 12

Maplesville Downs The Northview Chiefs (With Photo Gallery)

October 3, 2015

Alabama 1A powerhouse Maplesville shut out the Northview Chiefs 32-0 Friday night in Bratt.

“We just beat ourselves,” Northview head coach Sid Wheatley said after the loss. “Nobody likes to lose, obviously, but when you beat yourself, you are not giving yourself a chance. And in my opinion, we firmly beat ourselves tonight.”

The Chiefs suffered through multiple  turnovers that pushed Maplesville to the red zone, after the Red Devils took the lead on their first possession.

A pass from Northview quarterback Gavin Grant was intercepted by the Red Devils for an 11-yard touchdown dash following a 57-yard Maplesville run.

“It could have been 14-7 at the end of the second quarter,” Wheatley said, “but, again, we beat ourselves.”

Instead, Maplesville held a 13-0 lead at the half. A Northview turnover in the third set up another Red Devil touchdown, and a Northview fumble led to another Red Devil TD.

And after another Northview turnover, the Red Devils scored again.

“I liked the effort; I just did not like the execution,” Wheatley said. “We didn’t finish them off when we had those opportunities.”

Next week, it’s back to the basics for the Chiefs. “We’ve got to make sure we can take care of the football and have great ball security.”

The Chiefs will be back in Bratt next Friday night as they host Liberty county for the Chiefs’ homecoming.

Fore more photos, click here.

NorthEscambia.com photos, with additional gallery photos by Gary Amerson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Forest Service, Fire Departments Watching Island Fire On Escambia River

October 3, 2015

Firefighters from the Florida Forest Service responded to reports of a wildfire in western Santa Rosa County along the shores of the Escambia River Friday afternoon. The fire was contained to a small parcel of land in the Escambia River marsh but crews cannot make access and will monitor it throughout the weekend.

The fire is in the area known as Noriegas Island and is surrounded by water. Aerial estimates put the island at about 10 acres and a fire size at less than 1 acre late Friday afternoon.

Smoke may persist throughout the evening and into the night and could impact U.S. 90. Drivers are urged to use caution if they encounter smoke on the roads and treat as if they were driving in fog. Motorists should turn on their low beam headlights or pull safely off the road until conditions improve.

Cantonment Man Charged With Burglary, Vehicle Theft

October 3, 2015

A Cantonment man is behind bars, charged with a burglary and a vehicle theft.

Sundown West Brown, 21, was charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle, burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, grand theft and criminal mischief.  He was also cited for operating a motor vehicle without a license.  Brown was also arrested on outstanding Pensacola Police Department warrants for burglary of an unoccupied dwelling and grand theft. He remained in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $91,000

Brown was implicated in a September burglary at a home in the 1800 block of Bradley Avenue in Cantonment in which and iPad  a nd cash were taken.

Deputies spotted Brown driving 1998 Ford Explorer that had previously been reported stolen from Etta Street.

Baker Gators Top Jay (With Photo Gallery)

October 3, 2015

The Jay Royals opened district play Friday night with a 48-26 loss to the Baker Gators.

Next week, the Royals will host Cottondale.

For more photos, click here.

Photos by Michele Gibbs for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Master Gardner Fall Festival Today In Cantonment

October 3, 2015

The annual fall festival is this morning from 8:00 until noon with the Escambia County Extension Master Gardeners.

The event will include outdoor gardening activities and many ‘how to grow’ demonstrations.  Learn the best techniques for turning basil into presto pesto, how to save your favorite perennials for the spring garden, or planting and pruning techniques in the garden. Other demonstrations will include bog gardening, rain barrel basics, winterizing tools, and exotic vegetable gardening.

Special guests will include the Wildlife Sanctuary of Northwest Florida who will accept donations of supplies to support the rehabilitation of wildlife and McGuire’s Pipe Band.

The fall festival will be held at the Escambia County Extension Office at 3740 Stefani Road.

UF Celebrates 50 Years Of Gatorade

October 3, 2015

The research question posed to University of Florida professor J. Robert Cade, M.D., and his research fellows in 1965 was a simple one: Why were so many Gator football players getting sick in the unrelenting Florida heat?

“That question changed our lives,” Cade would later tell reporters, because the answer led him and his team to develop an innovative product that forever changed athletic performance, launched a new industry, helped people suffering from dehydration and sparked a legacy of innovation that persists at UF today — Gatorade.

This year marks 50 years since Cade and his team — Dana Shires, M.D.; Jim Free, M.D.; and Alejandro de Quesada, M.D. — concocted the mixture of water, electrolytes and lemon juice that ultimately became UF’s most famous invention.

At the time Gatorade was invented, the researchers’ goal was simply to develop something to help the Gator football team stay hydrated in the heat.

“Several football players were in the emergency room because of heat stroke,” said de Quesada, who noted that Gatorade was a side project for the team, which at the time was more focused on the bourgeoning use of hemodialysis and kidney transplantation. “The concept at the time was that if you were engaged in strenuous exercise, you could not drink water because it caused vomiting. The idea was if you create a solution and give it to the players, they would be hydrated much faster.

“We came up with a solution that could be absorbed quickly. It was very simple.”

With the permission of then-UF coach Ray Graves, the researchers tested the beverage on the Gators’ “B” team. Although the taste took some time to be perfected, the results of the fledgling sports drink were promising and seemed to help the team on the field. By 1966, the Gators had an 8-2 regular season record and had won the Orange Bowl for the first time, and many thought Gatorade played a role in that success. The Florida Times-Union famously wrote “One Lil’ Swig of That Kickapoo Juice and Biff, Bam, Sock — It’s Gators, 8-2.”

Today, Gatorade, now owned by PepsiCo, is the official sports drink of the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball and more. Within UF, the invention of Gatorade has cultivated another lasting legacy — a culture of innovation. The example set by Gatorade’s inventors has influenced generations of Gator researchers to be persistent in their pursuit of discovery and to aim big.

“What Bob Cade did for the university was make everyone else realize that someone working quietly on something interesting and relevant to them could make a difference,” said Nikolaus Gravenstein, M.D., the Jerome H. Modell, M.D., professor of anesthesiology in the UF College of Medicine. “You could be in any discipline and make a difference.

“It is one of our reasons our UF Office of Technology and Licensing is the size it is, because there are so many people who say ‘I can do that, too.’”

Mark Segal, M.D., Ph.D., the J. Robert Cade professor of medicine and division chief of nephrology, hypertension and renal transplantation in the College of Medicine, said Cade’s work has influenced many in his division.

“I truly believe this division is innovative, and that innovation has its origins with Dr. Cade,” Segal said. “He never accepted the status quo. We shouldn’t accept the status quo, either.”

Royalties from Gatorade also have funded more than $250 million in research projects across the university and notably within the College of Medicine, where Cade was a faculty member in the department of medicine division of nephrology, hypertension and renal transplantation until his death in 2007.

In 2014, UF Health researcher Michael Lauzardo, M.D., received $200,000 from the Gatorade Trust to open a tuberculosis lab in Gressier, Haiti. Haiti has the worst rate of tuberculosis infection in the western hemisphere. At the lab, UF researchers are performing rapid diagnostic tests to more quickly diagnose patients, training Haitian lab technicians to perform these tests and conducting research to answer crucial questions related to the transmission of the disease and why some strains have become resistant to well-known treatments.

“We want to move research forward and address how to best provide drug-resistant TB therapy in a difficult environment, how to best get specimens to a lab, and how to get people who live in remote areas complicated lifesaving therapy. This is an area where Haiti can be a leader,” said Lauzardo, director of the Southeastern National Tuberculosis Center, chief of the UF division of infectious diseases and global medicine and a member of the Emerging Pathogens Institute. “Gatorade’s funding has helped us do something novel and unique and efficient that moves research forward.”

Gatorade royalties have funded many pilot projects throughout UF, helping researchers get their work off the ground or establish labs. One such project that has come to full fruition is the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, which received a $30,000 grant from Gatorade to assist with its opening in 1974. Although the grant was small, the seed funding has paid off in big ways. Researchers at the Whitney Lab, located by the Atlantic Ocean in St. Augustine, Florida, specialize in understanding marine creatures to benefit human health.

For example, in 2014, Whitney researcher Leonid Moroz, Ph.D., became the first scientist to conduct genome sequencing of fragile marine creatures, such as rare comb jellies, in real time while aboard a ship. Because of their delicate bodies, these creatures cannot be safely shipped to the lab, so the researchers brought the lab to them. The research could lead to better understanding of the mechanisms at work in these creatures and could lead to new drug discoveries.

Gatorade’s influence also has spawned numerous discoveries at UF benefiting sports medicine. Gravenstein and his team developed air-cooled football pads to combat heat illness in athletes. The technology is now used in the NFL. Other UF researchers such as Jay Clugston, M.D., in the College of Medicine, are studying ways to prevent and reduce concussions in athletes.

“(Gatorade) infected people with the spirit of discovery,” Gravenstein said. “I am convinced the best is yet to come.”

For de Quesada, looking back on the invention he, Cade, Shires and Free devised five decades ago, what makes him the most proud is Gatorade’s use off the field, helping children recover from dehydration caused by vomiting and diarrhea.

“Babies, used to die because of severe diarrhea and vomiting. There was little they could do. With the use of Gatorade, that problem was solved,” he said. “We never claimed that Gatorade is a medication. But it can be used to hydrate people who need hydration for medical reasons. That is one of the great satisfactions I have, is how many lives it has saved.”

Roberta Ann Joslin

October 3, 2015

Roberta Ann Joslin, beloved mother, daughter, sister and grandmother, entered into the presence her heavenly Father on Monday, September 28, 2015, surrounded by her loved ones, after a courageous two-year battle with cancer. She was born December 11, 1954, in Corona, California. Roberta’s family moved to Pensacola in 1962. After Roberta’s father retired from the Navy, the family owned and operated the Tastee Freeze and the Gulf Coast Nursery on Mobile Highway for many years.

Roberta’s life was filled with love and her trademark characteristic was her boundless kindness and generosity. Every friend and family member can recount a story when she helped them in a time of need, never seeking anything in return. She was the cornerstone of her family, adored her children and grandchildren, and gave selflessly, sacrificing her own needs to fulfill those of others.

Her daughter described her as “my hero, my rock, and the sweetest, strongest person I’ll ever know.” Roberta’s kindness and tender heart encompassed not only close friends and family, but animals as well. Her family enjoys telling the story of the time she stopped traffic to rescue a turtle in the middle of the highway, one of many anecdotes that demonstrates the sweet spirit she possessed.

Roberta loved spending time outdoors and particularly loved the beach. She could spend hours walking the shoreline looking for shells. After her cancer diagnosis, Roberta was determined to live life to the fullest and spend as much time as possible with her family. She took three trips to Nebraska while battling cancer to visit family and build memories. In 2014, she traveled to Key West with her daughter and grandchildren, where she went deep-sea fishing and snorkeled the coral reefs off shore with her grandchildren. Her courage, zest for life, optimism and kindness will never be forgotten by those she loved and who loved her.

Roberta is survived by her parents, Floyd and Dorothy Joslin of Wausa, NE; son, Robert Heath of Milton and his wife Jennifer and grandchildren, Jasmin, Jordan, Blake, Bryce, Sarah and Robin; daughter, Mitzi LaCoste of Chumuckla and her husband Scott and grandchildren, Alexis, Nathan, Wyatt and Cameron; siblings, Hope and her husband, Eddie, and their children, Roxanne, Rachael and Jaxon; sister, Jan; and brother, Richard Joslin; numerous nieces and nephews; and former husband,Victor Heath, who remained a lifelong friend.

She was preceded in death by her brother, Steven.

Her family wishes to express their gratitude to the Covenant Hospice family for their comfort, dedication and compassion, and to the staff and congregations of Woodbine United Methodist Church and Eastside Baptist Church.

Funeral services were held Friday, October 2, 2015, at Faith Chapel North.

Interment was in Holy Cross Cemetery.

Faith Chapel Funeral Home North is in charge of arrangements.

Pat James Hall

October 3, 2015

Mrs. Pat James Hall, 72, passed away on Tuesday, September 29, 2015, in Atmore.

Mrs. Hall was a native and lifelong resident of Atmore. Mrs. Hall was a member of the Pink Ladies Auxiliary of Atmore Community Hospital and the Grief Support Group. She was a member of the Lottie Baptist Church. She is preceded in death by her husband, Clifton James and parents, Frank and Edythe Patrick.

Survivors include her husband, Hilton Hall of Atmore; one son, Jonathan (Christy) James of Atmore; two daughters, Cheryl James (Warren) Fenner of Atmore and Julie James (Tony) Wilder of Kingsport, TN; two brothers, Foster (Sarah) Patrick of Atmore and Benny Patrick of Bratt; two sisters, Frankie (Billy Wayne) Donald of Nokomis (AL) and Manell Cox of Foley; eight grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Funeral services were held Friday, October 2, 2015, at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home with Rev. Chris Pruitt officiating.

Burial will follow at the Serenity Gardens Cemetery.

Pallbearers were Blake Harris, Patrick Cox, Morton Cox, Billy Wayne Donald, Mike Hanks and Nip Hadley.

Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Homes, is in charge of all arrangements.

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