High School Lighted Sports Field Contract Expanded To Include Ernest Ward Middle
August 7, 2018
The Escambia County School District has expanded their lighted sports field maintenance to include Ernest Ward Middle School.
The $130,000 estimated contract was renewed with McLemore Electrict of Pensacola for the inspection, maintenance and repair of sports field lighting equipment on an as needed basis at Ernest Ward and Woodham middle schools and Escambia, Northview, Pensacola, Pine Forest , Tate, Washington and West Florida high schools.
The renewal price included an additional $75,000 to upgrade deteriorating wiring and the addition of the football field at Ernest Ward Middle in Walnut Hill.
Pictured: The lighted football field at Ernest Ward Middle School. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Two Gardening Programs This Week In Cantonment
August 7, 2018
Two gardening programs are coming up this week at Escambia County Extension in Cantonment.
Learn About Master Gardener Program
The Master Gardener volunteer program will hold an open house and information session on Wednesday from 9-10 a.m. at Escambia County Extension, 3740 Stefani Road in Cantonment.
The program is for those interested in the University of Florida Master Gardener Volunteer Program in Escambia County. Learn about training sessions, volunteer activities, and the role of Master Gardeners in the community. Applications will be available for interested participants for the 2018‐19 Fall/Winter Master Gardener training program.
For more information, call (850) 475-5230.
Garden Club Gardening Classes
The Florida Federation of Garden Clubs will sponsor gardening classes from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday at Escambia County Extension, 3740 Stefani Road in Cantonment. The short course will teach gardening and environmental issues.
Lean how to plant and maintain ornamental grasses, native and pollinator plants, shade and rain gardening and alternatives to turf. The program is $50 for garden club members, $60 for non-members, lunch included. For more information, call (850) 293-4902.
Sheriff’s Office Offers ‘Business Decal Program’
August 7, 2018
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office offers a “Business Decal Program” to allow responding deputies to quickly notify business owners in the event their business is victimized by criminal activity.
Participating businesses are given a decal which is placed on a door or other conspicuous area. Each decal has a code number which allows ECSO dispatchers to access pertinent contact information. Having quick access to business owners in the event of criminal activity improves the odds of a quick apprehension, according to the ECSO.
For more information, contact the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Community Relations at (850) 436-9735.
Delay In Federal Approval Trims Medicaid Savings
August 7, 2018
Nearly $100 million the state assumed would be saved by changing a policy about patient eligibility for Medicaid won’t come to fruition this year.
Tom Wallace, assistant deputy secretary for Medicaid finance and analytics at the Agency for Health Care Administration, told members of the Social Services Estimating Conference on Monday that Florida hasn’t gotten necessary approval from the federal government to move ahead with the change.
Instead of a July 1 start date, the change in policy will likely go into effect Jan. 1. A projected $98 million reduction was included in the new state budget, which took effect last month. Now, the Scott administration says the savings should be about half that amount.
But Wallace said the state isn’t deterred.
“We are confident that we will get federal approval, we just don’t know when that would be,” Wallace told the Social Services Estimating Conference, comprised of House and Senate staff members as well as staff from the governor’s office and the Legislature’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research.
Wallace said Florida Medicaid officials have been in correspondence with the federal government about how the policy change would be implemented.
Federal law requires states to cover the costs of medical bills incurred by people for up to three months before they apply for Medicaid. So long as people qualify for Medicaid and the services are covered, hospital, doctor and nursing-home bills that accrue during that period will be absorbed.
The longstanding policy, officially known as “retroactive eligibility,” protects poor people from unpaid medical bills that they cannot afford and helps ensure that hospitals and nursing homes are paid for services they offer to Medicaid-eligible people.
The policy change would eliminate the requirement that people have three months to apply for Medicaid and make them apply the same month as they need care.
AHCA projects that 39,000 people would be impacted by the change, which does not apply to pregnant women and children. That means the policy change would heavily impact seniors and people with disabilities, and the move has come under fire from critics, including Democrats.
Meanwhile, this is not the first time the Scott administration has revised the estimated savings from the change.
In a March 2017 letter to former U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, AHCA Secretary Justin Senior said Florida could save $500 million if the policy were eliminated. Months later, the Scott administration floated the proposal to the Legislature for consideration during the 2018 session. Ultimately, the $98 reduction was included in the state budget that began July 1.
While the full savings lawmakers anticipated won’t be realized, Wallace told budget conferees that overall costs for the Medicaid program this year should be nearly $732 million less than what was appropriated in the budget. Nearly $228 million of that surplus is general revenue. The lower cost is due in part to a continued dip in Medicaid enrollment.
by Christine Sexton, The News Service of Florida
Biscuits Take Series Finale Against Wahoos
August 7, 2018
Wyatt Strahan (L, 6-9) was tagged for nine runs in the shortest outing of his career as the Biscuits won the series finale 12-2 Monday night at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Strahan lasted just 1.1 innings before exiting the game. Montgomery scored five runs in the first inning before adding four more in the second. The Biscuits had sent 19 men to the plate as the game reached the third inning.
Pensacola’s offense came late when Aristides Aquino led off the seventh inning with his 17th homer of the season. For the second consecutive season, Aquino has tied Juan Duran’s record of most home runs by a Wahoo season, this time with 25 games still remaining. Shed Long followed with a single and later scored on Narciso Crook’s double to left, which made the score 12-2. Long finished the contest with a 3-for-4 night.
Benton Moss followed last week’s complete game with six shutout innings as the right-hander earned his fifth win of the season. He has now extended his scoreless-inning streak to 13.1 innings.
The loss snaps Pensacola’s series unbeaten streak at 12. The club had gone over two months since they had lost a series, dating back to the end of May when Jacksonville took two of three in a rain-shortened series. During that stretch, the Blue Wahoos went 38-19 improved their season record from 22-33 (last place) to 59-52, which is five game back of Biloxi for the best overall record in the Southern League.
After an off day tomorrow, the Wahoos will make the short trek across I-10 for a five-game tilt against the Mobile BayBears. Pensacola left-hander Seth Varner (6-2, 2.91) will open the series for the Blue Wahoos while RHP Joe Gatto (3-4, 5.59) is expected to toe the rubber for the Los Angeles Angles Double-A affiliate.
Sun, Showers And Thunder – Typical Summer Day
August 7, 2018
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tuesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 93. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 72. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 93. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 71. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight.
Thursday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 90. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the morning.
Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Friday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 89. West wind around 5 mph.
Friday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Saturday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Partly sunny, with a high near 88. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Saturday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73.
Sunday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 89.
Sunday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72.
Monday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 89.
Betty Marie Lewis Hinkle
August 7, 2018
Betty Marie Lewis Hinkle, 71, of Cantonment, Florida, went to be with the Lord on August 1, 2018, at the Covenant Care Hospice Unit of West Florida Hospital, after a 3 year battle with cancer.
Born to Charlie Clayton Lewis and Myrtle Lee (Scott) Lewis, on March 2, 1947, in Santa Rosa County , Florida. Betty married Ray Hinkle in 1965 and spent the next 47 years living in Maryland.
Preceded in death by her parents, two sisters, and her daughter, Jennifer Lynn. Betty will be remembered as generous and selfless, regularly giving her time and energy volunteering for various charitable organizations.
She is survived by her daughter, Diana C. Tate, and two grandsons, Dalton and Dakota Tate, her sister, Pat Cox, and numerous friends and family. She will be sorely missed.
Betty is most recently a member of Pine Forest Estates Baptist Church and a longtime member of Faith Community Church in Gambrills, Maryland. Betty was saved at a young age and served her Savior well over the last 60 or so years.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held Tuesday, August 7, 2018, at 4:00 PM, at the Faith Chapel Funeral Home, Cantonment, FL. The family will receive friends from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM.
Ann Elizabeth Hodges Brantley
August 7, 2018
Mrs. Ann Elizabeth Hodges Brantley, age 79, of Flomaton, AL, passed away on Sunday, August 5, 2018 at her home after an lengthy illness.
Mrs. Brantley was a native of Baldwin County, and a member of the Flomaton community for 52 years coming from Bay Minette, AL. During her working years, she worked for Chemstrand Nylon Mill as a draw twist operator. She enjoyed gardening, flowers, and was a member of the Century Church of Christ.
She is survived by her husband, Jerry Brantley of Flomaton, AL; daughter, Mandy (Chad) Payne of Flomaton, AL; brothers, Neal (Barbara) Hodges of Bay Minette, AL, and Glen (Cindy) Hodges of Lucedale, MS; sister, Doris (Woody) Morrison of Mobile, AL.; grandchildren, Trae White and Tycen White, both of Flomaton, AL.
Visitation will be held on Wednesday, August 8, 2018 at Century Church of Christ beginning at 10 A.M. until a 11 A.M. service time with Minister Jesse Claunch officiating.
Interment will follow in Hollywood Cemetery, Flomaton, AL.
Pallbearers will be Mark Autrey, Lewie Joe Smith, Robert Carden, Brandon Godwin, Don Belveal, Jerry Scott.
Joseph Thomas Moseley
August 7, 2018
Joseph Thomas Moseley, age 86, passed away Sunday, August 5, 2018 at the William F. Green Veterans Home in Bay Minette, AL. He was born in Lottie, AL to the late Arant and Janie King Moseley. He was a member of St. Paul United Methodist Church in Bay Minette, AL. He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Laurie Bryars Moseley and son Steve Moseley.
Mr. Moseley is survived by his brothers, James (Buddy) Moseley and wife Shirley of Lottie, AL and Billy Ray Moseley of Bay Minette, AL. Granddaughters, Blaire (Chris) Singleton of Atmore, AL; Gina (Jonathan) Wetzel of Crestview, FL; Miranda (Tony) Moody of Byrneville, FL and Grandson Denver Moseley of Atmore, AL; Great Grandchildren, Jaxon Singleton, Cole Singleton, Talerie (Kyle) McGhee, Chesnea Wetzel, Brody Wetzel, Hunter Moseley, Hudson Moody, MaryStephen Moody, Asher Moseley and Dylan Estes and three sister-in-laws, Sammie (Lonnie)Turberville of Atmore, AL, Mary (Charles) Fickling of Perdido, AL and Betty Vinson of Atmore, AL. Numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends.
Funeral services will be held Thursday, August 9, 2018 at 11:00 AM at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home with Rev. Ben Reece officiating.
Burial will follow at the Oak Hill Cemetery.
Visitation will be Thursday, August 9, 2018 from 10:00 AM until service time at 11:00 AM at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home.
Pallbearers will be Chris Singleton, Jonathan Wetzel, Tony Moody, Denver Moseley, Hunter Moseley and Jaxon Singleton.
Walnut Hill Man Dies After Being Shot, Wrecking On Highway 97
August 6, 2018
A man died after being shot and wrecking his pickup on Highway 97 in Walnut Hill Sunday night.
Mark Anthony Singleton, 55, was transported by Escambia County EMS to an area hospital suffering from a gunshot wound to his neck, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. He was later pronounced deceased at the hospital.
ECSO Maj. Andrew Hobbs said the investigation is continuing. No suspect has been named.
Deputies first responded to a shots fired call on Juniper Street in Walnut Hill about 9:55 p.m. An adult male was asked to leave a party just before witnesses reported hearing gunshots. A short time later, dispatchers received calls reporting possible shots fired on Highway 97 involving a red pickup truck and another vehicle.
About 10:25 p.m., emergency dispatchers received calls about a wreck involving a red pickup on Highway 97 near Mason Road, nearly 10 miles away from Juniper Street. The ECSO said the driver left the roadway, traveled through a fence, across the corner of a field, through another fence, across a driveway and through a third fence into a pasture.
Deputies believed the incidents to all be related.
The incident remained under investigation by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
The Florida Highway Patrol, Escambia County EMS and the Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue also responded to the accident scene.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
