FHP Targets Aggressive Drivers
July 17, 2017
Passenger vehicles and tractor trailers share Florida’s highways every day, but too often aggressive driving habits result in deadly crashes between the two. The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) will begin Ticketing Aggressive Cars and Trucks (TACT), a safety campaign dddhttp://www.northescambia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/fhpstock99.jpgaimed at educating motorists about the dangers of aggressive driving around large trucks and reducing commercial motor vehicle related crashes.
Motorists should protect themselves and their passengers by learning how to share the road safely. FHP offers these tips for driving around large trucks:
- Stay out of the No Zone: Be aware that large trucks have large blind spots (also known as “No Zones”);
- Pass trucks with caution: Pass on the left side for maximum visibility and maintain a constant speed;
- Do not cut trucks off: Be sure to leave plenty of room when you pull in front of a truck. Large trucks
Simply cannot stop as quickly as cars;
- Practice patience around larger vehicles that are not traveling at the same speed as your vehicle;
- Do not drive distracted: Anything that takes your full attention off of the road, even for a second, could
be deadly. This includes texting, changing the radio station, talking to passengers, and much more; and
Dial *FHP (*347) if you witness aggressive or dangerous driving.
Guy Harvey Mentors Ernest Ward Student, Aspiring Marine Artist
July 17, 2017
Nolin Godwin, an incoming sixth grader at Ernest Ward Middle School, recently spent time painting a mural at Sea World in Orlando with world renowned conservationist and artist Guy Harvey
Nolin, now 12, has been obsessed with the ocean, sharks and saving the environment since he was about two years old. The aspiring artist started drawing sharks at a very young ago. Four years ago, the Godwin family vacationed on Grand Cayman, the largest of the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean.
Harvey has a home and an art gallery on Grand Cayman. Nolin met Harvey and showed him some of his paintings. Harvey invited Nolan to draw with him in his gallery, inspiring Nolan to continue his love for the ocean, drawing and learning to paint. The family has continued yearly summer vacations back to Grand Cayman to see Harvey. They spend two to three weeks at a time to allow Nolin time in Harvey’s gallery.
He has also participated directly with Harvey multiple years in a Sting Ray City project, tagging and researching the ocean creatures.
When Nolin broke his arm at age 8, his Aunt Ruth Harrell bought him paint and canvases. Nolin sold his paintings, raising enough to donate $1,000 of to the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation. With the money, Harvey tagged a Mako shark and named it Nolin.
Nolin was invited recently to help Harvey with the mako shark mural at Sea Wold. Nolin signed the painting, with Harvey signing below wince he helped with touch-ups.
Nolin is the son of Gordon and JoLynn Godwin.
For more photos of Nolin and Guy Harvey painting, click here for a gallery.
Pictured: Guy Harvey paints with Nolin Godwin, incoming Ernest Ward sixth grade student. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century’s Community Development Block Grant Citizen’s Advisory Task Force To Meet
July 17, 2017
The Town of Century’s Community Development Block Grant Citizen’s Advisory Task Force (CATF) will meet to discuss the Town’s CDBG Emergency Set-Aside Housing Program. The meeting will be held at the Century Town Hall, 7995 N. Century Boulevard at 11 a.m. on Thursday, July 20.
For more information, call the Century Town Hall at (850) 256-3208.
At The Library This Week: Cardboard Robotic Arms, The Magic Of Reading
July 17, 2017
Here’s a look at the summer programs this week at West Florida Library locations throughout Escambia County.
Summer STEAM Cardboard Robotic Arm
- Tuesday, July 18, 2 p.m. – Century Branch Library
- Wednesday, July 19, 10:30 a.m. – Tryon Branch Library
- Thursday, July 20, 2 p.m. – Westside Branch Library
Come get your build on and join the Summer STEAM team to build a cardboard robotic arm. Using a hydraulics and lever system that you build yourself, your robot will be capable of lifting and moving items – but no promises that you can train it to take out the trash.
Russell Davis – The Magic of Reading
- Tuesday, July 18, 11 a.m. – Southwest Branch Library
- Wednesday, July 19, 11 a.m. – Century Branch Library
- Wednesday, July 19, 3 p.m. – Pensacola Library
- Thursday, July 20, 11 a.m. – Molino Branch Library
- Thursday, July 20, 3 p.m. – Tryon Branch Library
Russell Davis brings his magic tricks and comedy to inspire a love of reading.
Rain Chance Higher Today
July 17, 2017
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Monday: Showers and thunderstorms. High near 86. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.
Monday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Tuesday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 89. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 90. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 93. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Friday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 93.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 74.
Saturday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 74.
Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 93.
Youth Can Still Ride ECAT For Free Until Labor Day
July 17, 2017
The Escambia County Area Transit (ECAT) Summer Wheels Pass program is now in effect, allowing youth to ride ECAT free all summer.
The pass will allow youth 18 and under to ride ECAT through Labor Day, September 4 at no charge.
The Summer Wheels Pass can be obtained with an application and a parent or guardian at the ECAT administrative office on Fairfield Ave. To download the Summer Wheels Pass application, please visit GoECAT.com or call Tonya Ellis at 850-595-3229.
Northview Football Youth Camp Begins Tuesday
July 17, 2017
Northview Football Youth Camp begins Tuesday, and there is still time to register.
The camp will be held July 18 and 20 from 5-7 each evening for players entering kindergarten through the eighth grade. Players will receive instruction from Northview High School Chief players and coaches. Participants will be coached in offensive and defensive position groups. There will also be daily drills and competitions.
Camp fee is $25; all participants will receive a camp t-shirt.
Click here for a registration form (pdf).
For more information, contact Coach Marshman at (850) 377-2504.
Wahoos Tie Series With Mississippi
July 17, 2017
Nick Senzel smacked his first walk-off base hit in a Pensacola Blue Wahoos uniform, when he hit a sharp single back up the middle to score Joe Hudson with the winning run.
Senzel, the top prospect in the Cincinnati Reds organization, said he was “lucky” to hit the fourth straight slider he saw from Mississippi Braves reliever Devan Watts that gave Pensacola a, 4-3, victory Sunday in front of 4,123 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
“I wanted to put a good at-bat together,” Senzel said. “They were all sliders. The best pitch I got to hit was his first one. That’s his go-to pitch. The last one, I put the barrel on it and luckily it went through.”
Pensacola manager Pat Kelly felt comfortable having the Blue Wahoos’ hottest hitter at the plate with the outcome of the game on the line. His 22-year-old third baseman Sunday tied Jackson General’s second baseman Kevin Medrano for the longest hitting streak in the Southern League this season with 16.
“The right guy was up at the right time,” Kelly said. “Watts has good stuff. He had four tough sliders. That last one was up and Senzel got it through that hole.”
The second walk-off this series, after Tyler Goeddel hit one Friday, and fifth this season tied the five-game series, 2-2, with the final game played at 6:35 p.m. Monday.
“This has been a fun series,” Senzel said. “That’s a good club on the other side and they will be ready to play every day and so will we.”
The ninth inning rally started with a sizzling ground ball single to right field by left fielder Josh VanMeter with one out. Hudson followed with a walk and then centerfielder Tyler Goeddel drilled the first pitch into center field to score VanMeter and tie the game, 3-3.
It was the fourth time since Tuesday that Goeddel, who is hitting .249, has come through with a clutch hit. He has two-game winners and two hits that have tied the game against the Chattanooga Lookouts and Mississippi.
Pensacola shortstop Blake Trahan followed Goeddel with a walk to bring up Senzel. The second overall pick in the 2016 draft is hitting .383 (23-60) during his hitting streak with four doubles, two home runs and 12 RBIs.
Mississippi loaded the bases in the seventh inning on Pensacola middle reliever Alex Powers, who threw a wild pitch with two outs that allowed center fielder Connor Lien to score and put the Braves on top, 3-2.
In the eighth inning, Hudson kept Mississippi off the bases when he fired to Blue Wahoos first baseman Gavin LaValley to pick off Braves left fielder Tyler Neslony at first after his base hit. Mississippi second baseman Travis Demeritte reached first on an error by Trahan, Pensacola’s shortstop, but was gunned down by Hudson. This year, Hudson has thrown out 16 of 39 runners, or 41 percent, trying to steal on him this season.
Another big hit in the game came when Pensacola right fielder Gabriel Guerrero hit a two-out, line drive double to the opposite field in right that drove in Trahan and third baseman Senzel to tie the game, 2-2, in the sixth inning. Guerrero hit 3-4 for his 27th multi-hit game and it is the sixth time this season that the 23-year-old Dominican has had three hits total. He leads the ballclub with a .272 batting average.
Kelly said that Mississippi was trying to keep Guerrero from getting a pitch to hit.
“I don’t think you can pitch around Guerrero,” Kelly said, chuckling. “That ball was a foot outside and he hit it to right field.”
Mississippi scored two runs in the fourth to go up, 2-0. Neslony doubled to the wall in right center to drive in third baseman Austin Riley. Demeritte hit a high fly ball to right field that allowed Braves first baseman Joey Meneses tag up from third and score.
In the third start for Rookie Davis in Pensacola, who started the season in the Cincinnati Reds starting rotation, he pitched his most innings (five) and threw his most pitches (85).
Davis stood in the tunnel leading to the Blue Wahoos clubhouse after the game and gave all of his teammates a high-five. A Pensacola starter last season, he is 0-0 with a 4.61 ERA. Davis has pitched 13.2 innings total and allowed 12 hits, seven earned runs, walked six and struck out 11.
The 24-year-old retired 10 of the first 11 Mississippi batters he faced before running into trouble when he gave up two runs on four hits, including three in a row in the fourth inning. Davis, who has filled a void as one of Pensacola’s five starters, retired the side in the fifth inning.
“He’s getting better,” Kelly said. “It still comes down to fastball command. For him to be effective, he’s got to get the ball down.”
Pensacola evened its record at 12-12 in the second half. The South Division first half champions are 52-42 overall. Mississippi fell to 6-17 in the second half and 40-53 overall.
Jane Beverly Howington
July 17, 2017
Jane Beverly Howington, 81 of Century, Florida, passed from this life on Sunday, July 16, 2017, at her daughter’s home in Owasso, Oklahoma. She was born August 23, 1935, in New Orleans, Louisiana to the late Lewis Henry Beverly and Esther Daniel Beverly.
Jane received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Mississippi Southern, Hattiesburg, Mississippi where she met Bob Boy, the love of her life. She went on to be a music teacher in the public-school systems of Texas in Port Lavaca, and in Florida in Bratt, Byrneville and Century Elementary Schools and Century High School.
Jane loved God and loved telling others about Him. She was an active member of First Baptist Church, Flomaton, Alabama and First Baptist Church in Century, Florida, where she played the piano and was a Sunday School teacher for many years. In the community she played the piano for many events, especially weddings, keeping record of each by date with names of the bride and groom in the back of her “Wedding March” book. She also enjoyed entertaining at her home. In the late 60’s and early 70’s she hosted an annual Easter Egg Hunt in her front yard. As her daughters became teenagers she hosted the “End of the School Year Party” for their friends.
She is survived by three daughters, Beverly H. Dishman and husband Scott of Huntsville, Alabama, Judith Merritt and husband Mark of Owasso, Oklahoma, and Leslie Howington of Century, Florida; three grandsons, Tyler Williams of West Palm Beach, Florida, Tristan Williams of Century, Florida, and Andrew Merritt and wife Kimberly of Collinsville, Oklahoma; three granddaughters, Rachel Merritt of Owasso, Oklahoma, Hannah M. Underwood and husband Brock of Collinsville, Oklahoma, and Marina Bartlett-Dishman of Madison, Alabama; two great-grandsons, Ryder Underwood and Grant Underwood; extended family, Cesar Gonzalez of Century, Florida, Cesar A. Gonzalez and Juliana Gonzalez of Villa Vi Cencio, Columbia, South America; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
She was preceded in death by her loving husband, Robert Leslie Howington; her parents, Lewis Beverly and Esther Daniel Beverly; and one sister, Carolyn Beverly Miller.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, July 21, 2017, at First Baptist Church of Flomaton in Flomaton, Alabama. The family will welcome guests beginning at 10 a.m.
Burial will follow at the Flomaton Cemetery in Flomaton, Alabama.
In lieu of flowers please make contributions to Freedom Church, 9602 N. 177th E Avenue, Owasso, OK 74055 with memo of “Missions”.
Druie Mae Minchew Wilson
July 17, 2017
Mrs. Druie Mae Minchew Wilson, 89, passed away on Saturday, July 15, 2017, in Bay Minette, Alabama.
Mrs. Wilson was a native of Mexia, AL and a resident of Atmore, AL for the past 25 years. She was retired from Vanity Fair with 28 years of service and nursed at various nursing homes in Baldwin County. She was of the Freewill Baptist Faith. She is preceded in death by her husband, Johnnie Wilson and a son, Tommy Leon Wilson.
She is survived by her two sons, Johnny Dwight Wilson of Bay Minette, AL and Stephen Ray Wilson of Lewisville, AK; one sister, Nicie Lee Minchew of Marlow, AL; seven grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be Tuesday, July 18, 2017, at 10 a.m. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home with the Rev. Craig Burley officiating.
Burial will follow at the Hollingsworth Cemetery.
Pallbearers will be her grandchildren, Cody Wilson, Evan Wilson, Tristan Forbes, Johnny Malonise, Alyssa Forbes and Alexis Wilson.
Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Homes, LLC is in charge of all arrangements.