Gwendolyn E. Cotton
June 20, 2016
Gwendolyn E. Cotton, a lifelong resident of Pensacola, passed away on Monday, June 20, 2016, at the age of 69. She was an avid New Orleans Saints and LSU football fan.
She was preceded in death by her mother, Flora Mae Meriwether “Mimi”; father, Louis Clement Rance; and niece, Susan King Weems.
Gwendolyn is survived by her husband, Gary F. Cotton; brother, Terry Louis (Carol) Rance; sister, Dianne Rance (Hugh) King of Mandeville, LA; her beloved beagle, Boudreaux; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday, June 23, 2016, at Faith Chapel Funeral Home South with Rev. Jack Hankins officiating. The family will receive friends at 1:00 p.m.
In lieu of flowers donations may be may to the Sacred Heart Foundation for Local Cancer Care, 5151 North 9th. Avenue, Pensacola, FL 32504.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home South is entrusted with arrangements.
Unemployment Rate Drops In North Escambia
June 19, 2016
The latest job numbers released show the employment rate falling in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties in Florida, while inching upwards in Alabama.
Escambia County’s seasonably adjusted unemployment rate fell from 4.7 percent in April to 4.4 percent in May. There were 6,188 people reported unemployed during the period. One year ago, unemployment in Escambia County was 5.7 percent.
Santa Rosa County unemployment decreased from 4.2 percent to 4.0 percent from April to May. Santa Rosa County had a total of 2,905 persons still unemployed. The year-ago unemployment rate in Santa Rosa County was 4.8 percent.
In Escambia County, Alabama, unemployment increased slightly from 6.0 percent in April to 6.3 percent in May. That represented 928 people unemployed in the county during the month. One year ago, the unemployment rate in Escambia County, Alabama, was 7.0 percent.
Florida’s unemployment rate dropped from 4.8 percent in April to 4.7 percent in May, with the new rate representing an estimated 457,000 people being out of work, according to state Department of Economic Opportunity figures released Friday. The numbers reflect a projected 16,000 fewer people qualified as unemployed from April to May, while the workforce of 9.8 million has shrunk by 30,000 in the same time. The state unemployment mark now matches the federal rate, which dropped from 5 percent to 4.7 percent between April and May.
Alabama’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, at 6.1 percent in May, was unchanged from April’s rate of 6.1 and was also unmoved from the year-ago rate of 6.1 percent.
The jobless numbers released by Florida and Alabama do not include persons that have given up on finding a job and are no longer reported as unemployed.
The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.
Birthday Party Held For Rescue Horse
June 19, 2016
Panhandle Equine Rescue in Cantonment held a 32nd birthday party for Sky, their second rescue horse, and an open house event on Saturday.
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Gulf Power Crews Deploy To Restore Power In Alabama
June 19, 2016
Following a round of Friday night storms that left customers without power across the Southeast, Gulf Power crews headed north Saturday to help sister company Alabama Power restore power in the Montgomery area.
A storm team of more than 60 crew and support staff from Gulf Power along with 15 distribution line contractors will assist in storm restoration after a state of emergency was declared due to widespread power outages caused by Friday’s storms.
According to a release from the office of the Alabama governor, Robert Bentley, the declaration will allow crews from other states, including Gulf Power, to assist in the restoration of power until Tuesday. Alabama Power crews worked overnight to restore 42,000 power outages statewide, with the majority of the outages in Mobile, where 13,500 customers were still without power by Saturday morning.
“Our crews worked through the night to restore power here in Northwest Florida due to the same storm system,” said Rick DelaHaya, Gulf Power spokesperson. “Once we have completed our restoration efforts, our crews will travel to help our sister company. That’s the power of being a part of Southern Company — to be able to call on sister companies for help . We make every effort to respond as quickly and safely as possible to unforeseen weather events, whether right here at home or for our neighbors.”
The Gulf Power crews deployed from various company locations including Pensacola, Crestview and Chipley.
File photo.
Couple Hosts Appreciation Picnic For Beulah VFD
June 19, 2016
The Beulah community turned out Saturday afternoon for a Beulah Volunteer Fire Department Appreciation Picnic.
The event was hosted by Donna and Joe Meeks at their Live Oak Plantation in Beulah and included grilled Conecuh Sausage, hot dogs, other food, games and music.
“Joe and I thought it would be fitting to show them just how much everyone in Beulah appreciate them and their families for all their hard work, time and effort they give for all of us with little or no recognition,” Donna Meeks wrote on Facebook.
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Partly Sunny For Father’s Day
June 19, 2016
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 87. East wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 68. East wind around 5 mph.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 90. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 68. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 92. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 69. South wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 93. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming south in the afternoon.
Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 70. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 93. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 72.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 95.
Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 75.
Saturday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 94.
Pensacola And Biloxi Battle Down To The Wire
June 19, 2016
In his five-year professional career with six different teams, Pensacola Blue Wahoos starting pitcher Rookie Davis has never made it to the playoffs and played on a winning team once.
After the Mobile BayBears jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, it looked like his streak of bad luck might continue.
“Honestly, I knew what was at stake,” Davis said. “When I came to the dugout and looked my teammates in the eye, I thought everything they’ve done for me this year the least I could do for my team was give them the best chance to win. This is the best game I’ve had.”
Davis buckled down shutting out the Mobile BayBears over the last four innings, including the last 10 batters he faced and his teammates delivered a four-run second inning to help Pensacola to a 6-3 victory in front of a sellout crowd of 5,038 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
In the first game Saturday that was resumed from the night before because of rain, Pensacola won, 3-2, over Mobile in the eighth inning, thanks to a single by shortstop Zach Vincej. He smacked a line drive to right center that scored Pensacola second baseman Brandon Dixon from second base with the game-winning run.
With the two victories Saturday, Pensacola improved to 40-29 – the most victories by the Cincinnati Reds Double-A affiliate in its five-year history. The Blue Wahoos play their final game of the first half Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Biloxi Shuckers, who are 38-29, play two games against the Jacksonville Suns on Sunday after the teams’ game on Saturday was rained out.
If Pensacola defeats Mobile Sunday, they will win the first half title. If Biloxi loses one game Sunday, Pensacola will capture the title, the second in its history.
Blue Wahoos manager Pat Kelly said he’s confident his team can get the job done. Pensacola leads Mobile, 3-2, in this six-game series.
“You always want to be able to claim the title yourself,” Kelly said. “If we go out and win the game, it’s ours. They’ve played hard all year. I’m looking forward to playing tomorrow.”
The start falls on the Blue Wahoos opening day starter, Nick Travieso, who is 3-3 with a 5.27 ERA on the season.
“He’s one of our best competitors,” Kelly said. “He’s the perfect guy in this position.”
Davis, who improved to 5-1 with a 2.39 ERA this season, also trusts Travieso in the final game of the year with title implications on the line.
“I know he’s ready,” Davis said. “I wouldn’t have anyone else going. He’s going to work his ass off to do everything he can to win the game.”
Davis got the most offensive support he’s had this season with the Blue Wahoos scoring six runs.
Leading the way was left fielder Tony Renda, who is now 36-88 or .409 and has 12 multi-hit contests in his last 21 games. He’s now batting .323 on the year, which is second in the Southern League.
Renda had the big hit to help Pensacola come from behind to take a 4-3 lead in the second inning. Renda came to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs and smacked a two-out double that bounced off the left field wall to score Blue Wahoos catcher Kyle Skipworth, shortstop Zach Vincej and third baseman Alex Blandino.
Pensacola first baseman Kyle Parker scored the first run of the inning when Blandino got hit in the hand by a pitch.
The 24-year-old Renda was added to the Southern League All-Star team but declined, so that he could support his wife, Samantha, who is opening a home furnishing store in California. The couple has been dating for nine years and were married in December.
“She’s fired up,” Renda said. “She’s supported me throughout my entire baseball career.”
Mobile scored three runs in the first inning to jump out to a 3-0 lead. BayBears right fielder Gabriel Guerrero hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score center fielder Evan Marzilli, who walked to start the game. Then BayBears first baseman Kevin Cron clobbered a two-run homer over the left field wall that also brought in shortstop Ildemaro Vargas, who had singled.
In the first game Saturday that was resumed from the night before because of rain, Pensacola won, 3-2, over Mobile in the eighth inning thanks to a single by shortstop Zach Vincej. He laced a line drive to right center that scored Pensacola second baseman Brandon Dixon from second base with the game-winning run.
Raisel Iglesias started the sixth inning of the suspended game Saturday when the game picked up where it left off. He pitched one inning, allowed one hit, walked one and struck out one. The Cincinnati Reds opening day starter pitched three rehab games for Pensacola in his recovery from a shoulder
impingement in his throwing arm. In those three games, he threw five scoreless innings, allowed three hits, walked one and struck out five.
“There’s a lot of fight in this team,” Renda said. “We’re never out of any ball game. We just have to go out and play our game.”
Bear Hunt Proposal Ready For Wildlife Commission
June 19, 2016
A bear hunt this fall would be broken into three four-day periods, with hunters applying on a first-come, first-served basis for permits that would be specific to dates and areas, under a staff recommendation that will go before the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on Wednesday.
The recommendation to hold the state’s second bear hunt in the past 20 years expands on a proposal from state biologists without offering hard numbers of bears that could be killed or suggesting a number of permits that could be made available or the costs of permits.
Tammy Sapp, a spokeswoman for the commission, said more specifics will be discussed when the commission begins a two-day meeting Wednesday in the Franklin County community of Eastpoint.
The staff recommendation, posted online, is among four proposals that have been put before the commission, including holding a hunt similar to one last October, delaying another hunt until 2017 or prohibiting a hunt for the next several years.
“The staff recommendation is to continue to use hunting to slow the growth of bear populations,” said the recommendation by Diane Eggeman, director of the Division of Hunting and Game Management. “The new hunt format, which would begin in 2016, would be modified to increase precision and accountability.”
Under the staff recommendation, the first hunting period would begin Oct. 21, with the second four-day period starting Oct. 26 and the third Oct. 31.
A hunt last October was planned for up to seven days but was called off after two days as hunters quickly approached the quota of 320 bears.
The overall number of bears targeted this year could be up from last year as the state has increased its estimate of adult black bears to 4,350. For the 2015 hunt, in which 304 bears were killed, the agency estimated there were about 3,500 bears in the state.
Saying the state should focus on non-lethal ways to reduce human-bear interactions, the group Stop The Florida Bear Hunt contends the proposed changes offer little difference from last year’s controversial hunt.
The group has implored members on it Facebook page to voice objections to commission members and plans to hold a series of protest rallies across the state on Saturday.
“The upcoming meeting is most likely a dog and pony show to act like they care what the public thinks,” the group said on Facebook. “There is no way they can enforce any of these rules. It is left up to the trophy hunter using the honor system.”
Kate MacFall, Florida state director for The Humane Society, wants the commission to reject the hunt.
“I think the commissioners will have an open mind, and I hope they will listen to the will of the people of Florida,” MacFall said. “Clearly it’s a very unpopular hunt and just to cater to the will of the trophy hunters doesn’t make sense.”
Last year, the state sold 3,778 permits at a cost of $100 to state residents and $300 for out-of-state residents. The state did not limit the number of permits sold, and hunters were allowed to pick any of the areas of the state open for the hunt, regardless of the number of hunters or bears believed to be in the regions.
The staff recommendation for this year seeks to refine the hunting zones to areas where calls and incidents about human-bear conflicts are more common and would limit the number of hunters allowed in each zone at one time.
“This limited hunt option would allow FWC to hold a more precise bear hunt using the data and information collected including the latest bear population science,” Eggeman wrote in her recommendation.
Gun-rights organizations have urged the commission to increase the number of days from the 2015 hunt as a way to reduce the bear population and the potential for human-bear conflicts.
The staff recommendation would impose additional rules against hunting near game-feeding stations and would prohibit killing bears if other bears, including cubs are nearby. Hunters would also be issued tags that they would be required to place on bears immediately after the kill to enhance enforcement.
Based on a map that will be shown to the commission on Wednesday, hunting could be opened in 32 counties from the Panhandle counties of Bay, Jackson and Washington counties east to the Atlantic Ocean, omitting Nassau and Duval counties.
In Southwest Florida, the hunt would be allowed in Collier, Lee and Hendry counties, according to the map.
New Traffic Signal Now Active At Hwy 297A And Pine Cone Drive
June 19, 2016
A new traffic signal is now active at Highway 297A and Pine Cone Drive. The signal was installed by Escambia County at a cost of $167,705.50 to Ingram Signalization, Inc. It was funded with Local Option Sales Tax monies. NorthEscambia.com photo by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Robbery Suspects Arrested; SWAT Nabs 3 At Hotel, Two Arrested Later
June 18, 2016
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office has arrested five people in connection with the robbery of a Nine Mile Road gas station.
Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said one 18-year old adult and two teen juveniles were taken into custody at the Magnuson Inn on Pensacola Boulevard by the ECSO SWAT team and the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force.
The Sheriff’s Office later arrested Ryan Cheney and Michelle Gagne in the Perdido Key area. He allegedly fired his weapon during the armed robbery of the Raceway Gas Station on Nine Mile Road and Fowler Avenue near Lowes about 8:20 Wednesday night. There were no injuries in that robbery.
Gagne was described as an accomplice by Morgan.
Cheney was charged with robbery, as was 18-year old Hunter Lafoe of St. Laconia, NH. Gagne was being held in the Escambia County Jail as a fugitive from justice. All three were also wanted in Hancock County, MS, according to jail records. Details on charges against the two teen juveniles have not been released.
The sheriff said the suspects may have been involved in robberies in other states, including Mississippi and along the East Coast, but he declined to provide exact locations.
Gagne and Cheney were tracked down after tips received after their images were posted by NorthEscambia.com and two other media outlets, according to Morgan.
“You were picking up your phones, you were texting us, you were calling in telling us where these suspects were at,” Morgan said just after the arrests. “It (the arrests) were due solely to our community involvement….thank you Escambia County, we can rest easier tonight.”
For more information on the Raceway robbery, click here.
Photos by Kristi Barbour, Johnathon Hilliard and others for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
